


Do Not Falter

by Hebisama



Series: Do Not Falter [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Dragon Age elements, F/F, set in ME2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 06:41:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 86,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19167874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hebisama/pseuds/Hebisama
Summary: Cerberus sure likes it's experiments, alas often they end up with unexpected results. This time they managed to pluck out a templar from Thedas. Since Shepard seems the only one to clean up Cerberus messes, Trev joins in on her quest to save the galaxy. . . .





	1. Prologue: Ser Trevelyan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the first chapters are somewhat in the first person

She blinked several times, trying to shake off the fuzziness in hear head. She was on her hands and knees - a fleeting thought of gratefulness for her templar armor that cushioned her when she fell over flew though her mind. Her vision was blurry, her hearing dulled as if by water, but her nose worked fine - blood, smoke and the indescribable smell of the Fade.

The Fade.

Yet another rift had been formed in the Emerald Forest. The Inquisitor had fortunately been with them, all marching to intersect their enemy in the Arbor Wilds. Demons aplenty, but they were winning. She knew they were winning. She stood by the elven Inquisitor, protecting him as he used the Mark to close the rift.

But then something happened. As the rift was closing, it... pulsed. She immediately remembered the reports from Radcliffe. She held up her shield, as it that could protect her from the unknowns of the Fade, and stood before the Inquisitor who was primarily an archer.

The rift pulsed again and energy not unlike a  _Mind Blast_  erupted from it.

As everybody staggered and fell, she refused - she was a templar, even if she had not been stationed at a Circle Tower in a long while. Instead she took a step forward, forever a protector.

Then white. Blinding white.

That's all she could remember. She blinked again and shook her head, trying to focus. She needed to know what happened, the smell of blood did not bode well.

"See cheerleader, this is what you get when you mess with shit!" an angry voice shouted from nearby and loud banging sounds followed.

She frowned and gripped her sword tightly. She used it to stand up and then after a brief moment of hesitation she dropped her shield - she was feeling weak and it was too much of a burden. The voice made her focus but she could not see the source. Maybe the woman who spoke was in another... room.

For the first time her brain registered she was in fact in a room and not the beautiful forest the elves used to roam so long ago. Quite a large room, full of strangely looking machines that even the dwarves could not boast about. She also found the source of the burnt smell - two corpses nearby, all torn up from large claws and considerably singed. A rage demon, she was sure. Strangely there were no demons around, somehow they hadn't cared about the templar.

She made a weak and unsure step to inspect the bodies. Those were not the soldiers of the Inquisition. They were frail looking, like mages, and also like them were dressed in a longish garment. A white cloak. Since both of the corpses had them, she guessed it was some kind of uniform she had never seen before.

Like much of the other things in the room.

Finally the noise stopped.

She breathed out and gripped her sword with both hands. She did not know much at this point but she would be ready to defend herself - after all she was one of the chosen bodyguards of Divine Justinia herself. Before the Conclave that is. She still not made peace with the fact she was with Leliana, sister Nightingale, when Corypheus decided to attack.

She shook her head again, this was not the time for regrets. She needed to be ready for whatever comes.

Finally a small party entered from the door to the right. They were still quite far but she tried to assess the treat nonetheless.

Unsuccessfully. Strange armor, strange weapons, strange everything. The only thing she could say for sure was that they were warriors.

"A survivor?" the male with dark skin exclaimed in surprise.

"Great! Now maybe we can get some answers. I haven't seen such weird shit since I stopped taking the 'sand" was the bald tattooed one's reaction.

"She is not one of ours" the woman in a tight white armor declared with narrowed eyes.

But the apparent leader hasn't spoken yet. The templar held her gaze, waiting for a decision. Would they fight? Or will she get some much needed answers?

Finally the leader asked in a clear voice "Who are you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Already posted on Fanfiction.net for quite some time but I finally got the time to catch AO3 up. Hope readers enjoy it here too :-)


	2. Prologue - Commander Shepard

The Bifrost station was a complete and utter disaster. The Illusive Man had asked Shepard to check it out when they were passing though the system where the distress beacon had gone off. TIM had not shared any information about the station or what project were working on, and when the commander asked Miranda, the Cerberus operative just shrugged and said she was not involved so she didn't know any details.

Shepard was cautious - she might be working  _with_  Cerberus but sure as hell didn't trust any 'important project' of theirs. Jane still remembered the lifeless corpse of admiral Kahoku being devoured by Thorian creepers.

And of course it all went to shit. The station was riddled with strange monsters - some looked like forms made of molten lava, some were thin and tree like. And then there was one that looked like an oversized turian sumo fighter, all plates and horns, with an electrical whip of all things.

All those creatures were difficult as hell to put down but eventually they succumbed to bullets like any other.

Shepard wanted answers. Seeing as she would not get it from her Cerberus second in command, as punctuated with a lengthy argument between Miranda and Jack, she would need to search the databases. After the station was cleared, naturally.

After putting down one more line of resistance the small group continued towards a large door, far more armored than those they encountered before. Blast resistant even. If there were any survivors, they would surely be there.

Jacob tsked in disappointment when the door opened freely, being no protection for anybody at all. Shepard was about to order a sweep of the servers when she realized that among the bodies there actually was a survivor.

The survivor was clearly on her last legs. She was dirty, as if she had just run through fire, exhausted but otherwise alright. Alive, that is - alright might be too strong a word. The woman was clad in armor which looked ancient, who would wear steel armor in this day and age. Shepard even spied an old-fashioned helmet and shield lying next to her newest mystery.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked, curious but wary.

The stranger paused, her sword not lowering even for an inch. Finally she spoke "Ser Trevelyan, officer of the Inquisition, former Knight-Captain to the Grand Cathedral."

For a beat nobody spoke, after which Jack burst into laughter. The self-identified Ser Trevelyan's eyes flashed briefly towards the tattooed inmate but then went back to her own.

"Where am I?" the strange woman demanded in turn.

Shepard hesitated for a split second but then smoothly replied "In a facility belonging to the organization called Cerberus, which is quite known for performing experiments."

"Experiments" the knight said dryly.

Garrus chuckled "Exactly as bad as it sounds."

Ser Trevelyan winced and did not respond to him. Shepard's eyes narrowed, she hated bigots of any kind. A moment later though, she reconsidered, a bizarre idea worming into her mind "Could you understand him?"

The commander saw the hesitation, the reluctance to make herself more vulnerable than she already was. Nonetheless the stranger shook her head slightly "No."

"No translator?" Jacob blinked in confusion.

"Who cares" Jack shrugged, "Let's bag the info and blow this place up."

"Shepard!" Miranda started but the commander just held up her hand, she was fed up with the constant arguments between the two biotic women.

"You need medical attention" the commander said calmly to Trevelyan, "We have a doctor on board our ship."

Ser Trevelyan didn't acknowledge the statement and instead she asked "Have you dealt with the demons?"

"Demons" Miranda scoffed. The knight arched an eyebrow and jerked her chin to point at the two dead Cerberus scientists.

"You are the only remaining living thing on this station" Shepard answered, nonplussed.

The stranger eyed their weapons and then nodded "Good."

"Hey Shepard, what are we still doing here" Jack rolled her eyes, "Let's just take the chick, the data and go. I'm hungry."

Trevelyan's eyes shifted to the convict and her posture tensed even more "That would be ill-advised."

Jack sneered "You think I couldn't take you? Please."

Before Shepard could reprimand her most disruptive team member, again, Jack went aflame with biotic energy, clearly turning the intimidation factor to maximum.

What followed though was most unexpected. Ser Trevelyan's eyes widened in alarm as she shouted "Apostate!" Her left hand shot forward at lightning speed in what looked like a biotic gesture, but instead of biotics nothing happened. With Trevelyan that is. Jack seemed much worse off.

"The fuck!" the convict exclaimed as she fell onto her knees suddenly feeling faint, the biotic glow nowhere to be seen.

Shepard's team lifted their weapons again, suddenly far more wary of the strange woman. Trevelyan herself replied in kind but was now visibly weaker. Her already drooping shoulders fell another inch and she seemed to sway a little but still determined to face them.

"I'm sorry about Jack, she's a hothead" Shepard said amiably, "We mean you no harm. Also, we are the only ride out of here so we should all lay down arms and get out of here."

The knight seemed to consider her words and then sheathed her sword "It seems I have no other alternative."

Shepard nodded to her team to stand down and ordered "Garrus, I want to know what happened here, you have the databanks. Jacob, pick up Ser Trevelyan's shield and helmet, we'll be taking them with us. Miranda, since you have the most medical training out of us, look over Jack and our new guest. Jack, you rest, and for god's sake don't protest."

The ground team obeyed their commander and went about their tasks. Shepard herself did not move, still eyeing the stranger.

She needn't have worried. Trevelyan swayed again but this time she closed her eyes and fell in dead faint.

"Serves the bitch right" Jack spat out.

Shepard rolled her eyes "Alright people, hurry up. We're leaving. Shepard to Normandy."

" _Normandy here_ " Joker's voice replied on the radio.

"Tell Chakwas we've got someone for her"

" _Aye. Found survivors?_ "

"Something like that"


	3. Stage One - Denial

Trevelyan woke up. As soon as she regained consciousness she knew something was not right - she was in a bed that was not her Skyhold one or a bedroll, and the smell… it was altogether different from anything she knew. It had been drilled in her during her training that in these situations it was best to feign sleep and collect information about her environment and possible captors. Trev did not. She opened her eyes in pure panic, gasping for air.

"Ser Trevelyan?" a voice said firmly yet gently at the same time. Trev moved her head a bit to see a woman with graying hair. "Ser Trevelyan, can you hear me? How do you feel?"

Trev just blinked, noting absently the Fereldan accent. The older woman busied herself with some contraption that sat near the bed. Trev looked around the room and noted a dark skinned man she has seen before. From his posture he was standing guard.

"Jacob to the commander. She's awake."

" _I'm on my way_ " a disembodied voice answered. Trev recognized the voice even though it was distorted. Yet another sign she had not dreamed being thrown out of the Fade and ending… somewhere else.

"I'm doctor Chakwas." Trev shifted her attention back to the graying woman. The now introduced doctor Chakwas held up her hand that was now covered by some sort of glowing glove "I'm going to run some tests. It will not hurt."

Trev nodded and watched the glowing hand running over her with much interest. The doctor smiled "Everything seems in order."

"Where am I?" the templar finally braved.

"On the starship Normandy SR-2. The commander will be here shortly to explain more" Chakwas answered while studying the glowing hand again.

Trev nodded even if the answer confused her even further, latching on the promise of more explanation. Internally she was bordering on pure despair - she did not recognize anything around her. Nothing at all.

The doctor seemed to notice "It will be alright."

Trev was skeptical but merely nodded again. For now she would observe and wait.

The doors on the far side of the room opened with a whoosh and the red-headed leader from earlier stepped through it. The commander rubbed her brow "EDI could you lock the Infirmary, both Jack and Miranda are hounding me because of our guest and I could use a break."

Jacob and the doctor seemed amused. A disembodied voice replied with no inflection " _Doors locked."_

The commander sighed in relief "Thank you EDI."

"You're going to get it later" Chakwas warned with a small smile.

"I know" the soldier chuckled and then turned her attention to the woman lying in the hospital bed "We did not get introduced before. I'm Shepard, commander of this vessel. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, but I have many questions"

"No doubt" Shepard nodded grimly and dragged a chair over, "I may have answers to some of them but I'm afraid you won't like them much."

"Somehow I expected that" Trevelyan chuckled weakly.

"Let me tell you what we know" the commander sat more comfortably in her chair and crossed her arms with a sigh, "The organization Cerberus dedicated itself to the betterment of the human race. And itself. It does so by conducting almost fringe research and experiments many, me included, find quite amoral."

The dark skinned guard stiffened but said nothing.

Shepard continued without pause, obviously deciding to lay it all out "Project Bifrost, the one we have been investigating, was meant to open a… conduit, a tear into another universe. Another dimension. The intent was to siphon energy from the other dimension through a makeshift bridge. Upon their first attempt to induce their project into practice they did succeed in opening a tear but it did not go as expected. Some energy did indeed come trough but also some strange creatures and, well, you. Also, the energy was too alien to handle and the device, and pretty much all systems, melted."

The templar did not speak for a beat, absorbing the information and trying to decipher their meaning. Finally she sought to confirm a fact that stood out among the rest "So this was a one way trip."

"I'm afraid so" Shepard said solemnly.

"So I am in another dimension? Like the Fade?"

Shepard frowned "Fade?"

"The only other dimension I know of. It's also where the demons you indubitably had to battle come from" Trev explained.

"Demons? We did encounter some strange beings made of lava and flames and many others" the commander cocked her head to the side.

"That's them"

Jacob piped up "Fascinating."

"I know it's a lot to handle" Shepard sighed and uncrossed her arms, "I'll leave you alone for a bit to digest it all. In the meantime I could arrange for you to get something to eat. Just answer one question."

Trev shrugged, too overwhelmed to care "Of course"

"Are you a danger to any of my crew?" the commander asked as she looked directly into Trevelyan's eyes.

The noble hummed "If they do not attack me in any manner, then no."

"Good" Shepard smiled and stood up from her seat "I'll be back. Maybe tomorrow we can discuss more. I'm most interested in the attack you used on Jack. She wasn't harmed, otherwise I would not be so nice."

Trev chuckled. Shepard turned to leave but was halted by the templar's voice "What will happen now?"

The commander hesitated "Well, you can ride with us until we figure that out."

"What are your goals? Who do you battle?" Trevelyan asked, a desperate tinge in her voice, "I know you are a warrior and you command a ship full of them."

Shepard tapped her bottom lip "We are standing against a race called the Reapers who are trying to eradicate all organic life. Currently they are operating through another race called the Collectors who are abducting entire human colonies for reasons unknown."

Silence reigned for a little while, even the doctor and guard seemed melancholy. Finally Trev hummed "A worthy goal."

Before Shepard could reply Trev's stomach growled loudly. The commander chuckled and left but not before waving at the man to leave as well "We'll get you something to eat."

* * *

**Starboard Observation**

Trev had a raging headache. She had been cleared by Doctor Chakwas and was now sitting alone in the Observation Lounge. The more answers she got, the more she wanted to stop asking. Reapers, Collectors, Cerberus, Specters. And not to mention all the complex terminology. And space! She still could not believe this ship was not sailing seas but the skies instead. But here it was, right before her eyes. All the stars she could think of.

_"Your heart rate has risen considerably. Should I contact Doctor Chakwas?"_

Ah, and this. A machine with a soul. Or at least voice and intelligence. "No thank you, EDI. Just understandably stressed, I will be alright."

_"My search says that stress levels can be lowered by meditation. Should I search further?"_

Her headache intensified "No, thank you."

_"Logging you out"_

Even that statement held no meaning to the templar. But she would adapt, what other choice did she have.

Ever since leaving the infirmary she spent her time polishing her armor - the much practiced motion grounded her. With all the time and concentration she had given it the plate achieved a shine it did not have since Halamshiral.

She felt numb. She was intelligent enough to know she would break down later, but right now everything was just surreal.

Trev resisted reacting when she heard a whooshing sound behind her, she already knew it was only the door opening. She briefly wondered who it might be, Shepard said she asked everybody to stay out of her way for now. "Hi, I'm Kelly Chambers! I'm the ship's counselor."

The templar looked up to see another red-head, smiling chipperly. Trevelyan just nodded in greeting and continued working on her armor.

"Wow, this armor is amazing. You really are a knight" Kelly exclaimed.

"A templar, but yes" Trev gently corrected, her eyes not leaving the steel.

"Templar?"

The andrastian sighed and run her hand through her dark blond hair "I don't want to talk about that now."

"Alright" Kelly agreed easily. After a beat of silence she spoke again "I'm quite surprised you have no problem with the non-humans aboard."

"Just yet another new race" Trev shrugged, "Although Mordin is quite… something."

"That's not you, it's him. Believe me. He's an acquired taste" the counselor chuckled, "Yet another race? You had different races back home?"

"Indeed"

"Tell me"

Trev shrugged "Elves, dwarves, qunari. Theoretically darkspawn and demons could be counted in as well."

Chambers smiled "Amazing. You know, elves and dwarves are in our mythology."

"And knights and templars are in your history" Trev grimaced.

"And how do you feel about that?"

"Currently in denial"

Kelly chuckled and made a motion to continue. Trev sighed "Angry, I feel angry. Just hours ago I was walking though the Emerald Forest, I had my friends and comrades, I had a purpose. Now…"

"And now, you are lost" Chambers said perceptively.

"Accurately put. Pass me the helmet, please"

Kelly obliged. Since the red-head seemed content on watching her work in silence Trev refocused on the repetitive motions of her hands. It was only after a while that the ship's counselor spoke again "There is nothing I could say that would make you feel better but I believe you could find friends and a purpose here, in this universe, as well."

Trev hummed "I decided to help Commander Shepard with her mission. She is genuine and these Reapers do seem like a threat. Besides, I am a warrior, I assume at least war hasn't changed. Maybe I would not be useless then."

Kelly was rather apprehensive "War itself has not changed but the tools have."

"I noticed" Trev chuckled without much humor.

"I could arrange a firearms instruction with Operative Taylor, I believe he's in charge of the armory" Chambers proposed, sensing the need for control.

"Much obliged"

Kelly seemed to ponder something and then decided to ask "How come you are not confused?"

Trev looked up in surprise, for a moment stopping working on her helm "Of course I am confused! All this strange new things, space and…"

Kelly shook her head "Sorry, let me rephrase. How come you're not more confused about the fact you were home and now suddenly you're here. The very possibility of such travel."

The templar shrugged and resumed her polishing "With the Fade and magic anything is possible. Besides, the enemy we were fighting back in Thedas was able to make a tear in the Veil. A bigger tear somewhere else is horrifying but not impossible to fathom."

"Veil?"

Trev shrugged and waved it off.

"Well, that's good" Kelly surmised, "Very good. Also, Thedas?"

"Home"

The Cerberus operative nodded "Would you tell me something about it?"

"Home?" Trevelyan said again, this time in a melancholy tone, "Maybe later."

Taking it as the dismissal it was Kelly stood up "Okay. I'll leave to your work then. If you need anything EDI can help you and you have been given a tour of the ship. Just…"

"Yes?"

"Don't stay up here alone for too long" the counselor advised, "That will not help. Quite the opposite actually."

"Noted"

* * *

**XO's Office**

"I still maintain she should be sent to Cerberus for study" Miranda said firmly, "Just imagine what we could learn! The ability to block biotics would be most valuable. Since you already deleted all the data from Bifrost, we could at least get something out of it."

Shepard smirked at the bitter tone at the end of her XO's statement, she sure would try to impede any Cerberus attempt to suck another dimension dry "You know my opinion on the matter Miranda. Drop it."

The Cerberus operative humphed "So what do you want to do with her?"

"Kelly says she's not a danger to the ship or crew. Also, she has expressed interest in joining us against the Collectors."

"Her anti-biotic ability would be useful…"

Shepard chuckled. Miranda arched an eyebrow. Shep grinned "Sorry, antibiotic."

"Yes, very amusing" the brunette rolled her eyes and continued, "But besides her  _counter-biotic_  ability she has little to offer. I don't think steel armor and a sword will help us much."

"Those are just tools" the commander waved it off, "We'll see how she adapts. And even if she turns out not to be an asset she will be allowed to travel with us. Or I can turn her to the Alliance if she desired it. But not until she has at least a basic grasp on our universe. God, I really can't imagine. Here I thought waking up after dying was wild."

"It is certainly unique" Miranda admitted.

"She's handling it remarkably well, if Chakwas and Kelly are to be believed. That shows strong character. We need strong character" Shepard smirked, "Besides, she fits the ground team profile - no strings to hold her back and a unique ability."

"True enough. In her situation I would not mind a suicide mission as well" the Cerberus operative sighed.

Shepard looked at her XO in concern "You think she's suicidal?"

"I say she's been cast adrift and we ought to keep an eye on her" Miranda shrugged.

"That almost sounded like concern" the Commander smirked.

Miranda pursed her lips "You seem determined to let her join the crew."

Shepard grinned.

"And I want to study her"

The commander's smile fell "I assume you already sent all the medical data to TIM."

"Of course"

"Swell" Shepard replied sarcastically.

"Well, our resident dimension traveler aside, we should reach the Citadel tomorrow afternoon. I assume you will want to reach out to Councilor Anderson?"

"Yeah" the spectre grinned, "Visit the old chap, do some shopping, collect a master-thief…"

Miranda nodded "Who will you be talking with you?"

"Well, not you to be sure" Shepard scoffed, "Not meeting the admiral with a Cerberus operative behind my ass. I'll take Garrus - he might help prove I'm me since we were buddies and all. He will suffice."

"Very well" Miranda said a bit surly.

"Don't worry, if you give me a list I can do some of the shopping for you" Shepard grinned widely.

"Swell" the Cerberus operative echoed Shepard's previous sarcasm.


	4. Stage One - Denial

"Ok, so we have the pistol, the submachine gun, the shotgun, the assault rifle and the sniper rifle" Jacob said as he pointed at each weapon on the table.

Trev looked at the weapons apprehensively "Hm. EDI said all of them are shooting weapons. Well, I can handle a crossbow, the bow not so much but I'm really good with throwing knives."

The Cerberus operative hesitated "Well, the shotgun is crossbow-ish."

"Let's give it a go"

"Alright" Jacob nodded and began explaining the mechanics of the gun.

Slowly the duo made the complete tour of the weapons of the 22nd century. Trevelyan's performance was not bad overall. Nothing to write home about, but not bad.

Jacob seemed quite surprised and finally hummed "Well, you'll never be a sniper, that's for sure. But the rest was pretty good."

Trev sighed "The doctor said she would do something to make me see better after she runs some more tests. But even then I think I will always be a melee fighter."

"You're shortsighted?" Jacob asked in surprise.

"That is what the doctor said. Personally I think it's minor, nearly negligible. But she said she does only  _perfect_  work" the woman shrugged, "That's why she already gave me some… things. I want to say potions but I know that's not it. Supposedly they should make me stronger and faster."

"Of course, gene mods, right. Well, regarding melee the only ones that can make it work are biotics and those good with cloaking tech."

The templar grimaced "And I am neither."

Jacob smiled nodded back to the guns "So, which one you like? You did best with the pistol which is great since it's the pretty much mandatory secondary weapon. But you need a primary."

Trev took up the Predator again and weighted the pistol in her hands with a slight smile. Then her gaze moved to the other guns on the bench "Assault rifle. The submachine is disgustingly jumpy and I just don't like the shotgun."

"Really?" the Cerberus operative picked up the Mattock, "Here I had you pegged for a shotgun. No matter. Here, this is yours then. You know what to do, now you only need to practice."

"At least some things never change" the Marcher smiled weakly and went back into shooting position.

Jacob chuckled "True. But when I said practice, I didn't mean right now."

"It's strangely cathartic"

"Alrighty"

Trev continued shooting while the operative just watched on. After awhile Jacob hummed "You like the Mattock right? It's my favorite but we can get you a full auto."

"That means continuous shooting?"

"Yes"

"Then no" Trev said flatly and started shooting again.

Jacob shrugged and fell silent, sensing the woman just needed to destroy something. It might not be as satisfying as using fists or blades but it was still a good outlet.

It was an hour later that the doors to the shuttle bay opened and Shepard came through. Jacob snapped at attention and saluted "Commander!"

"At ease, Jacob" the red-head waved it off, "So, how goes my newest soldier?"

They both looked at Trev who was mechanically changing the heatsink and firing again, completely ignoring the byplay. Jacob shrugged "If she continues practicing like that she'll be mission-ready in no time."

"Really? That's great" Shepard smiled towards the templar who was still oblivious to the world.

"Well" Jacob hesitated, "To be honest we haven't moved past the shooting range. Ser Trevelyan really got into it and since it seemed therapeutic…"

Shepard sighed and rubbed her brow "Miranda wants to have another chat with her, so I'll be taking her with me. In the meantime prepare her armor, a lesson on grenades, get her an omnitool. The works."

"Aye, aye, commander" Jacob saluted again.

The spectre turned towards her newest passenger "Ser Trevelyan, could you stop shooting for a moment?

Trev sighed, finished her magazine and put the rifle down "Yes, commander?"

"Not bad shooting"

"Thank you" the templar said hesitantly, "I think I can get used to these weapons."

"Glad to hear it" Shepard smiled honestly, "If I could steal you from Jacob for a moment, we are compiling a dossier on you. We need you to help fill in the blanks."

"Ah" the Ostwick noble nodded and put her rifle down.

"Won't take long" the commander promised as she led Trev from the shuttle bay.

They rode the elevator in silence. Shepard shot tiny glances towards the blonde once in a while until Trev just sighed "What?"

"Just curious" the commander shrugged.

Trev nodded and they both exited the elevator on the crew deck. The templar attracted more curious glances from the Cerberus crewmembers in the mess hall but ignored them as she strode towards the XO's office.

Once in, Shepard greeted the Cerberus officer and sat down while the templar stopped in front of the table, standing at attention - ramrod straight, eyes forward, looking just left and over the operative's shoulder. In turn Miranda was keeping her face completely blank. Silence reigned.

"Pffff" the commander could not resist any longer and started laughing.

"Shepard!" Miranda frowned in reproach, "This is a serious matter."

The red-head grinned "True, but it's also hilarious. I lost count on how any times I stood exactly like this in front of a superior officer."

Miranda looked scandalized while Trev permitted herself a smile. She had similar experiences with Knight-Commanders Martel and Escott. Not to mention Cassandra and occasionally Leliana.

"Sit down and relax" Shepard prompted, "We just need more information about you if you are to join us on our mission."

Trev smirked at the Cerberus operative and obliged.

"Excellent" Shepard smiled, "Now, when you introduced yourself you said Ser Trevelyan, that I remember. Also knight and inquisition."

"Ser Trevelyan, officer of the Inquisition, Knight-Captain to the Grand Cathedral" Miranda corrected and wrote something on her terminal.

Trev was impressed "Former Knight-Captain, but yes."

"I have excellent memory"

Shepard smirked at her second in command and then addressed Trev again "So, what does that all mean."

"Well," Trev blinked in confusion, not sure how to explain "I am a templar knight, high in rank, stationed in Orlais as guard to the Divine. Templars are the military branch of the Chantry, the main religion. After the war broke out I joined the ranks of the Inquisition, an organization seeking to restore order."

"Alright" Shepard said after a beat of silence, "So… religion, eh?"

"Indeed"

"So what does a templar do? Fights the heretics?" the commander asked lightly, even as her eyes sharpened.

Trev hesitated "That's complicated but I would venture: no"

Shepard relaxed a fraction and made a 'go on' motion. Miranda's eyes did not leave the terminal as she wrote down the information.

"The main function of the templars is to defend the people against magic" Trev started somewhat clumsily, "You have fought the demons at that station. Those creatures come from the dimension we call the Fade. It is also the source of magic so mages and the Fade are connected. If they connect too closely they are at risk of being possessed. At such point they lose all reason and start killing indiscriminately. We call them abominations."

"What does apostate mean?" Miranda asked, her eyes flashed up to meet the templar's.

"How did… of course" Trev nodded, "Jack's biotics - I asked EDI, very interesting. An apostate is a mage that is not a member of the Circle. Under law, membership is mandatory as the templars, its guardians, are best equipped to handle a mage that loses control."

Miranda pursed her lips "Apostate, apart from the state. Your… mages are state-controlled."

"Yes" Trev admitted, "It is not the best solution but one that has served Thedas well. The Inquisition did seek reform though."

Shepard sighed "I realize we don't know much but this Circle does not sound fun."

Trev shrugged "Some Circles are, some aren't. It very much depends on the people, both the mages and templars alike. Each Circle is pretty much autonomous."

"Ah, the wonders of human nature" the commander rubbed the bridge of her nose and then shot a surprising glare at the Cerberus employee.

Miranda did not acknowledge the jab and instead asked "So, that technique you used on Jack was meant to control magic?"

"Indeed"

"And it works on biotics. Fascinating" the brunette murmured.

"So this holy smite of yours…" Shepard started.

"A Cleanse or Purge, actually. Holy Smite is something else" the templar corrected.

The commander waved it off "This thing, how does it work."

"Too difficult to explain and what explanation I have is very spiritual. It would not satisfy you" Trev shrugged.

"Alright, I accept it just works"

"Commander," Miranda interjected sternly, "This ability has to be studied."

"You have medical data and you'll see it in action" Shepard dismissed the operative cheerily. Then she turned back to Trevelyan "But I've got to ask, how often can you do it? You nearly collapsed on Bifrost after using it."

Ser Trevelyan hesitated. She knew she had no lyrium on her. Her use was always conservative - when she transferred to the Grand Cathedral she cut back her use and after the Inquisition was formed she took even less. But when Lady Motilyet had negotiated with the dwarfs for the substance she resumed the usual templar doses - it was war after all. Now she had nothing and knew she would lose her abilities eventually.

"Ser Trevelyan? Everything ok?" Shepard asked.

"Yes" the noble said quickly, "As for your question, I don't know. Everything is different here. Biotics is different from magic and I simply do not know. Before I came here I could use it several times before I got tired."  _Or had to take a potion._

"We can test that" the red-head hummed, "I'm sure Miranda here would volunteer to be your test subject. After all, it would allow her to  _study_  your ability up close. Right, Miranda?"

"Of course commander" the operative replied, refusing to be baited.

"Excellent!" Shepard clapped her hands together, "Now, I would grill you some more but since everybody wants to know, I'll leave it for the mess hall conversations and such."

"Very well" Trev nodded and stood up.

"Wait" Shepard stopped her, "Don't you have questions?"

"Many, but EDI has been helpful so far. Maybe I too will ask during meals" the templar replied and with a shallow bow she left the room.

The two women stayed silent for a little while and then Shepard asked "So, what do you think?"

"Cerberus would…"

"Nope. What do you think about  _her_ , I already know you want her studied and ability replicated"

Miranda pursed her lips but answered "We'll see."

"That's it?"

"For now"

"Fair enough"

* * *

**Mess Hall**

"So yer the knight" the Normandy's cook/handyman said jovially.

"Indeed"

"Heh" the man nodded and started dishing out the food, "I'm Gardner. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you" Trev bowed minutely in thanks as she took her meal. To be honest it didn't look overly appetizing but beggars can't be choosers. Still, it was better than some of the Orlesian experiments. Like that deep mushroom dish. Ugh.

Shepard seemed to notice her expression "It's not too bad. It probably looks worse that it tastes. Besides, I'll be picking up some new supplies on the Citadel. We'll be there shortly actually."

"That is the where the embassies are, right?" the templar asked, recalling it from the files she'd been given.

"Yup" Shep nodded, "And now let's go bond and mingle." She sat down among her ground team and put down her tray loudly to gain their attention "Alright team, listen up. This is Ser Trevelyan and she will be joining us. Be nice, she's a tiny bit displaced"

"Yeah, Cerberus sucked her up from home" Garrus chuckled, "Is anyone here surprised." Jack snorted and started muttering a long string of expletives directed at the human organization.

The commander chuckled "So, this is Jack, Garrus, Jacob. Miranda is in her dungeon and you already met Mordin."

"Well met" Trev inclined head in greeting.

"Fuck, she even talks medieval" Jack laughed.

"She is refreshingly polite" Jacob smirked at Jack.

"Fuck you"

"I rest my case"

Trev smiled slightly, it seemed banter was universal. She took up her fork and poked her food, gathering the courage to try the weirdly yellow thing.

"So" Jack said loudly looking at the dimensional traveler. When she got her attention she pointed her thumb at Kelly who was sitting with the engineers, "Perky air-head over there said we shouldn't ask about where you're from but, I just gotta…"

"Jack" Shep admonished.

The tattooed woman ignored her and continued with her question "Why the skirt?"

Trev arched an eyebrow and said flatly "Skirt."

"Yeah. Skirt. The purple skirt you are currently wearing"

"It's part of the templar uniform" the knight explained tersely.

"It looks ridiculous" Jack announced.

Trev eyed the almost-but-not-completely-naked woman before her "I take it you're dressed to the height of fashion of this universe. Right?"

Jack grinned "You can bet your skirted ass on it."

"But nothing can beat me, the dashing prince of the Normandy" Garrus turian-smirked.

"Well, the rocket to the face certainly did serve to improve your looks" Shepard quipped.

"You wound me!"

Jack laughed "You guys might not be so bad after all."

Jacob shrugged "Mostly."

"When the XO isn't around" Garrus winked.

Trevelyan smiled - that was a bit familiar too. Varric used to host games of Wicked Grace and during those  _everybody_  loosened up. And who was incapable of that,  _cough Vivienne cough_ , simply didn't attend.

"So what's that shit you blast me with?" Jack turned to the templar once more.

"Holy Smite" Shep said assuredly.

"Cleanse. Smite is something else" Trev sighed.

"I'm changing it. I like Smite better - all crushing the infidels"

Trevelyan crossed her arms an arched an eyebrow pointedly. It didn't work as Garrus nodded "Change approved."

Jack shrugged "Whatever. You do it again princess and I'll punch you in the face. I don't need biotics for that."

Trev grinned like a shark that smelled blood "Finally a melee fight!"

"You're on!" the convict grinned right back.

"Back up, kids" Shep chuckled, "No rough-housing on my ship willy-nilly."

"A duel then?" Jacob smirked.

All the pairs of eyes turned to Shepard who tapped her bottom lip in a show of thinking. The she smiled brilliantly "No way in hell."

"Aww, Shepard!" Jack definitely-not-pouted, "I really wanted to kick the princess' ass!"

"I'm not a princess" Trev huffed, "Father is Bann, not Teyrn. And we're from the Free Marches, we don't have princesses. Well, except Starkhaven, but they are weird."

"Whatever, miss silver spoon up your ass" the convict rolled her eyes. Trev blinked in confusion but let it be. The woman reminded her of Sera anyway, so Sera treatment it was - ignore everything.

"Speaking of" Garrus smirked like only a turian can, "Is Miranda leaving her office anytime soon? I only saw her at missions."

"Aww, are missing the ice queen?" Jack taunted.

"She's busy" Jacob defended his coworker.

"Yeah, I imagine bringing people from the dead involves a lot of paperwork" Shepard joked, but her eyes shone with anger.

Jacob took a breath to reply but Trev interrupted him "Wait, what?"

"Oh yeah," the red-head said with forced levity, "Lawson and Cerberus resurrected little old me."

"You don't have necromancers in your land of magic?" Jack asked with a sneer, "Necromancer does sound dark enough to be one of Cerberus' official titles."

Trevelyan eyed Shepard intensely and then shrugged "Sure we have, but their projects usually don't talk or are actually completely sentient."

"Zombies! I know that one" Garrus exclaimed triumphantly.

"Good for you" Shepard patted her friend in his arm.

"I don't" Trev volunteered.

Jacob shrugged "Animated corpses, not sentient. Their only drive is the need to feed. Oh, and they can infect other via bites. Well, in the vids at least."

"Oh" the templar grimaced, they didn't sound fun. And a bit like darkspawn.

"The Reapers have something similar too - we call them husks" the commander sighed.

"Yes, Reapers" Trev said somberly, "I have read the file and asked serah EDI, but I find I would like to know more. By all accounts, you commander are the person to go to."

"Yeah, unfortunately" Shepard sighed.

"Pssst, the Cerberus puppy is out of her lair" Garrus stage-whispered and nodded towards Miranda who rolled her eyes.

"Ser Trevelyan, the Illusive Man would like to talk to you"

"Ooooh" Jack dramatically, "You better ditch the skirt and put your armor back on."

"Especially the back plate" Garrus nodded.

"Nah, I'd recommend the helmet" Shepard added.

"Right, because they fuck with your head. Smart" Jack hummed approvingly.

Miranda ignored the comments and was staring expectantly at the templar. Trev sighed and wiped her mouth with a napkin, her dinner over "Very well. Lead the way."

"Good luck" Jacob piped. Miranda shot him a cold stare and he leaned back defensively "He can be creepy."

"No! You mean those glowing eyes or the bag-of-dicks attitude backed by billions of credits?" Shepard gasped theatrically.

"Let's go" Miranda said in a voice that bore no rebuttal.

The templar followed the XO in silence. When they got into the elevator Miranda's eyes narrowed "Despite what Shepard might feel, the Illusive Man is providing her, us, with the best shot we have against the Collectors, and the Reapers by extension. I trust you'll reserve judgment until you see for yourself. And that would include being polite to the Illusive Man."

"I'm not in the habit of swearing as Jack seems to be"

"Good"

"That said, I am… unhappy with Cerberus, ah, 'sucking me from home' as serah Garrus put it" Trev said bitterly.

"An accident for which I apologize" Miranda replied swiftly but rigidly.

Trev grimaced but said nothing - 'sorry' really doesn't fix anything. The templar was already on the severely-disliking-Cerberus train, but she was willing to play ball for the greater good.

"Through here," Miranda gestured to the door they stopped in front of, "His image will… appear."

The templar arched her eyebrows but shrugged minutely and entered. True to Miranda's words, the Illusive Man appeared same as the room seemed to disappear around her. It was really strange, a bit like the space/time warping in front of Radcliffe when the Inquisition met the mages.

"Ser Trevelyan," the man spoke lighting up something in his mouth, "I'm the Illusive Man. I'm the sponsor of Shepard's expedition."

"Messere" Trev said without any inflection.

"I understand you volunteered your services for the mission. Good, we need every available asset if we hope to defeat the threat humanity currently faces, and the universe will face in a short while" TIM exhaled a long trail of smoke, "Your abilities will be useful."

"Yes, Messere" Trev nodded in acknowledgement.

The man didn't seem to be put out by her lack of reaction "What had happened at Bifrost station was regrettable but I'm glad it hadn't dampened your spirit and resolve to make some good."

This time the templar just nodded, not letting the irritation show on her face. She just wished TIM just  _got to the point_. But alas, there seemed to be none, other than stressing the importance of his organization. After that, she was released.

Shepard was leaning on the wall near the doors of the comm room "How did it go?"

"You were right, he is creepy" Trev said dryly.

The red-head chuckled "That he is. Did you get the 'yay humanity' speech?"

"Indeed"

Shepard eyed her newest recruit for a moment and the smiled "Did you get that a lot at home?"

Trev nodded "Yes, especially with the elves."

"Hm. Well, I'm glad you have no problem working with aliens" the commander smiled.

"They are actually very interesting," the templar perked up, "Serah EDI has given me fascinating reading on them. She has been most helpful."

Shepard's gaze turned speculative "She has been rather talkative recently."

"We were discussing the stereotypes and behavior of different races, she has thought of adding humans to the list. She has an interesting perspective" Trevelyan smiled.

"Hm, just don't give her any ideas about enslaving organics" the commander smirked.

" _Ser Trevelyan has displayed marked distaste for slavery_ " EDI chimed form up above.

Shepard sighed "It was meant as a joke."

" _Acknowledged_ "

The commander turned back to Trev "I suggest you tackle humor in your discussions as well."

Trevelyan grinned "Acknowledged."

"Abort! Abort!" Shepard threw her arms in the air in a dramatic fashion, "We have a minion of the robot overlord here!"


	5. Stage One - Denial

Trev sat in the co-pilot seat, looking in awe at the marvel that was the Citadel.

"Pretty cool, heh?" Joker looked up from his consoles.

"Indeed"

"Soooo…"

"Yes?" Trev sighed exasperatedly - she was a novelty with the 'best stories' as word was. It didn't even help when the noble adopted a cold expression that could rival Leliana's.

"Hm, sorry," the pilot cleared his throat awkwardly, "I just wanted to warn you that the Ice Queen is on her way here. And surprisingly I didn't do anything to land me in trouble sooo she's here for you. Enjoy."

True to his words, it didn't take long for them to hear the distinct clicking of heels that could only mean Miranda Lawson - the only one aboard with impractical shoes. And clothing. Even if it was flattering.

"Good afternoon, mister Moreau, Ser Trevelyan" Lawson greeted with a nod. Not waiting for a reply she continued "Since the commander will be busy on the Citadel for quite a while, we could take this opportunity to test that ability of yours."

"I didn't do my evening training yet, so why not" Trev agreed and stood up.

"You do evening training as well? You were on the shooting range the whole damn morning, are you trying to make us look bad?" Joker chuckled.

"It wouldn't do you any harm if you did some work as well, mister Moreau" Miranda arched an eyebrow.

"Actually it could - brittle bones and all" the pilot shot back.

"Sitting in this chair all day long isn't going to help any" Miranda shrugged, "You should exercise to strengthen your muscles."

"That's what the shots are for," Joker waved his hand dismissively, "Wouldn't want Chakwas to miss me too much."

"So, what is this test going to include?" Trev brought the conversation back on course.

The XO made a motion to Trev to follow and departed towards the elevator "First we test your ability for combat, so potency and duration. Then I just want to try a couple of other things."

"Very well"

"So, how exactly do you gain those abilities?" Miranda asked, eagerness well concealed.

"Training and a vigil" Trev shrugged as nonchalantly as she could, completely omitting lyrium.

"A vigil" the Cerberus operative said skeptically.

"Yes"

Miranda huffed lightly and asked another question "And how does this smite work?"

"Cleanse or Purge" Trev pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"I'm sorry" the operative sounded genuine for the first time, "I got it from Shepard."

"I gathered" the templar sighed.

"I'm afraid that isn't going away" Miranda said gently.

"So I better get used to it?"

"She has a forceful personality"

"Splendid" Trev said dryly.

"But that is exactly why we have brought her back. If anyone can make everyone listen about the Reapers, it's Shepard" Miranda complimented with a minor grimace.

"Everyone?" the blonde arched an eyebrow, already knowing enough about Cerberus.

"Yes, everyone. The Reapers are a threat to everyone" Miranda sighed, "I know what is said about our organization, but Cerberus isn't anti-alien, it's just pro-human. There is a big difference. Cerberus seeks to advance humanity, to let us take a greater role in shaping the galaxy. Hardly an  _evil_ goal."

"True, but it's the methods that count"

"Bifrost was a failure, there is no denying that" the brunette said decisively, "But Cerberus has done quite a lot of good. Even if most people won't ever know about our successes. Look at project Lazarus - we brought someone back to life!"

"Shepard does seem to look quite well for being dead for two years" Trev admitted to get away from the debate. She had too little information to argue it.

Miranda smiled at her victory "Indeed. And studying your ability might help us improve human biotics."

The duo had arrived to the cargo bay, Trev's usual training spot since it had a makeshift shooting range, so the templar just shrugged.

"We know you can extinguish biotics…"

"Deny"

Miranda blinked in confusion "Deny?"

"Deny" Trevelyan nodded resolutely, "You already exchanged Cleanse for Smite, let me have this one correct term."

"Very well," the operative acquiesced, "We know you can deny the biotic aura - that is what Jack did on the station. Let's try if you can cancel, sorry,  _deny_ , actual techniques."

"I feel very unprotected doing this without armor or at least my shield" Trev frowned.

"Oh, I didn't think of that" Miranda frowned, "We can stop by the armory. No wait, I'll tell Jacob to fetch your shield."

"Good"

"We can try the harmless ones first. I'd start with a simple Throw. It does just as the name says. In combat biotics use quite a lot of force but it can be scaled down somewhat" the brunette explained.

Trev nodded "Alright."

"Ready?" Miranda asked as she got into position.

"Yes"

Miranda's right arm lit up in blue and the templar did not hesitate. Trev thrust her arm forward as well and used cleanse. The blue aura was extinguished.

"Good" the operative said breathlessly, letting her hand fall to her side.

"Packs quite a punch, eh?" Jacob spoke from the elevator.

Trev smirked at Miranda's nod. She accepted her shield from the man "Thank you."

"That thing is really heavy" Jacob remarked, "I don't know how you can even use it in combat."

"Practice"

"Well, heavy armor for you for sure"

"Didn't you already assemble armor for Ser Trevelyan?" Miranda said in heavy reproach and crossed her arms.

"I did, ma'am" Jacob back-pedaled, "But now I feel validated in the choice."

"Let's try the Pull now" the woman turned back to Trev.

Jacob breathed out in elation and took it as dismissal. "Good luck" he said on his way out.

"For me or operative Lawson?" Trevelyan smirked.

The man chuckled.

* * *

"Nice ship, Shep, but the XO doesn't look too good" Kasumi remarked as the commander was giving her a tour of the Normandy.

Shepard turned around to see an exhausted Miranda dragging herself to her office. "Yeah! Can't wait to hear what happened. Hey, how do you know she's my XO?"

"It's in the ship manifest" the master thief shrugged nonchalantly but her grin betrayed her.

"Girl, you're good!"

"That I am"

"Hey, Garrus!" Shepard called out to her turian friend, "You left you self-imposed exile in the forward gun?"

"Just getting someone to eat, still working on the gun"

"This is Kasumi Goto, master thief and our newest member" the commander introduced. As the two nodded at each other Shep turned to Garrus "So what happened to Miranda?"

"Decided to test Trevelyan's thing" the turian smirked.

"Ah" Shep grinned widely.

"Got her ass kicked too" Garrus made it sweeter.

"Score for the knight" the red-head nodded, "Oh, hey Kasumi, we have our own… Where is she?"

The sniper shrugged "I don't know. How did it go with Anderson? You escaped rather quickly, you practically left me on the embassies. You even collected Goto yourself."

"Sorry, I... I just needed some time alone" Shepard sighed, "With all this back from the dead and Cerberus business I really don't know what I expected… Well, I got SpecTRe status back for what's it worth. Nothing else though."

Garrus shuffled his feet awkwardly "It's something. I'm sure once they had some time to digest it, they'll come to you."

"He barely heard me out. The Council, I expected nothing there, but the captain…"

"Give him time"

"I can hardly do anything else, now can I" the commander said bitterly.

Garrus stood there uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. Then he perked up "I read women cheer up after sweets! Gardner asked to pick up supplies anyway, so we get to choose."

"Women cheer up after… you're such a guy Garrus"

"Uhm, yes?"

Shepard chuckled "Good idea though. I'll ask Miranda to head the shopping trip, you tag along. I'll stay behind."

"Ok. Hey, at least you get to rib Lawson for getting her ass kicked, that might cheer you up!"

"I'm sure it will" the human chuckled again and went towards the XO's cabin, her old room.

Shep knocked but also immediately went in "How are you?"

"Tired" Miranda said, not pausing in her typing.

"What are you doing?"

"Adding to Ser Trevelyan's dossier"

"Cool. Once you're done, recruit who you want plus Garrus and go on a little shopping trip - we need supplies that don't taste like cardboard" Shepard grimaced in remembrance of the taste.

At this Miranda looked up from her screen "Very well, I'll take Jacob. Maybe Gardner."

"Oh, and Gabby and Ken wanted some technical do-dah as well. Check with them"

"Adding the do-dah to my list" the operative said dryly.

"Good, I'm going for a nap. In case I'm not awake when you come back, set course for Korlus"

"You're sleeping well?" Miranda spoke up before her commanding officer could leave.

Shepard paused, door already open. Then she grimaced "No. Hence the nap."

"Nightmares?"

"Close enough"

"Memories? Of dying?" the brunette pressed.

"Don't you have a shopping expedition to prepare for?" Shepard asked curtly.

"Aye, aye"

The commander nodded and left the office without looking back. She also ignored Kelly's call and got into the elevator. She pressed the 1 and leaned on the cold metal walls of the elevator.

"Fucking Cerberus" she breathed out and closed her eyes. Maybe then it will all go away.

/

"I hear we have our own knight in shining armor" Kasumi spoke as soon as she materialized next to Trev. She had to duck under a punch. She rolled away and got back on her feet with a pout "That's not how the stories go."

"Who are you?" Trevelyan demanded, still in her fighting stance.

Kasumi bowed theatrically "Kasumi Goto, thief extraordinaire and your new teammate at your service."

"Thief?" the templar frowned but let her fist drop.

"Yup! Master thief, to be precise. And you're the lady-knight"

"Templar" the older woman corrected.

"Where's your sword?"

"Confiscated"

"You have one? Awesome! In the armory? I'll take a peek"

Trev grimaced "Well, it's not like I can use it. You people are all about shooting."

"True. But we got the omni-blade for emergencies" Kasumi hummed, "But I wouldn't recommend using that regularly. Sorry."

"I know" was the unhappy reply.

"Wait! I know something that might make you feel better!"

Trev arched her eyebrows. As Kasumi busied herself doing something on her omni-tool, the templar went to the small bar and perused the selection.

"Just check it's not dextro" the thief called from behind her. Trev remembered the levo and dextro lecture and just nodded.

As she selected one of the bottles her own omni-tool pinged. Trev sighed and clumsily went to check what it was.

"It's from me. A present!"

"How do I open this thing?" Trevelyan sighed in defeat.

Kasumi chuckled and took the blonde's hand "Here, like this. And now this. And voilá!"

A large orange-yellow semi-transparent shield appeared on the knight's left hand. Trev poked it dubiously but it seemed solid enough.

"I present you the N7 patented omni-shield. It's new and classified, so I wouldn't spread it around. A guy I know loved it and used it quite a lot" Kasumi said happily, "Died because of it too."

"Does it work on gunfire?"

"It does. Well, for a while. I saw it take a missile too. Only one though - cue the death of the guy. It was a mess"

"I'd rather not end the same way"

"Wuss, we can test it"

"Tomorrow perhaps?" Trev shook her head, "I just returned from another test."

"Ah, they did say you kicked ass in something"

"Hardly. It was a test, not spar"

"OK. So, what do you have there. Thessian brandy! Good choice" the thief smiled and snatched the bottle on the counter.

* * *

"I'm not wearing this" Trev aid with steel in her voice.

Kelly sighed "But this is what humans are wearing this day."

"It's like something a farmer might wear. I'm not a farmer, I'm a templar"

"That we managed to save your… uniform" the counselor motioned to the long purple skirt, "Is a miracle. You need new clothes."

"Not these"

"We have offered you several pairs of Cerberus uniform"

"No. I won't wear another's sigil. I'm a templar, even if I'm in another plane of existence"

"Which leaves us with these" Kelly brought up the dark brown clothes in her arms.

"No"

"Stop being so stubborn!"

"I'll stay in armor then. Garrus stays in armor" Trev shrugged.

"That's because he doesn't trust us enough to be in plainclothes"

"Can't say I'm a fan either, if not for Cerberus I could've been in Thedas right now. In my own clothes"

The argument was interrupted by EDI " _The course is set for Korlus. ETA 10 hours. The ground's team presence is requested in the comm room_."

"That's me, right?" Trev asked.

"Yes" Kelly nodded surly, "We'll revisit this discussion later."

"Can't wait" the noble said dryly and left with haste.

When the templar entered the briefing room Shepard just nodded at her, waiting for the whole team to assembly. Last to come was Mordin "Apologies, apologies. Test at a critical stage."

"You have something against the Collectors already?" Jacob asked.

"First, tests" the salarian refused to answer.

Shepard smiled "That's great Mordin. I presume you'll want to continue and you won't be joining us in the field at Korlus."

"Yes, yes. Critical stage"

"Ok" the commander nodded, "Mordin's out. Other than that, I would prefer to take the entire team. All of you. It's supposed to be a pick-up but… well, we know how well that worked with Jack."

"Finally, some action!" Jack grinned.

"Trevelyan, how do you feel about it?" Shepard eyed the templar, "Jacob says you haven't left the gun range."

Trev nodded "I'll join you in your mission. As promised."

"But do you feel ready?"

"I'd like the opportunity to try"

"Ok, you're in" Shepard smiled.

"Commander" Miranda interjected, "Perhaps more training is warranted. It's been only a few days."

"We'll keep Trevelyan covered" Jacob spoke up.

Jack smirked "She needs to see how we fight nowadays. And the sooner she's ready, the sooner we can spar."

"Just point and shoot at the bad guys, not us" Garrus turian-smiled at Trevelyan.

"I think I can manage that, after all, that's not a new concept" the templar smirked.

Shepard chuckled "Indeed it isn't. Ok, our target is a krogan scientist. Yes, you heard correctly. Might even be the only one."

"Unique. I like unique" Kasumi tuned visible just for a moment and then vanished again.

"And we will be trying to add him to our team. He has traded with the Collectors so he might be able to provide us with intel" the commander continued, "But be warned, he isn't a popular guy, not even with his own people."

"I read the dossier" Garrus nodded, "He got thrown out of the krogan for being too hard-core. Do we really want someone like him?"

The entire room turned to look at Miranda who merely arched an eyebrow "We need the intel."

"Lovely" Shepard sighed, "So 10 hours, all of you get some sleep. I want you armored and ready in nine. Dismissed. Trevelyan, Jacob, stay behind."

When the three were the only ones left Shepard leaned on the table "Just want to make sure we hadn't missed anything. Armor?"

Jacob got his commander's point and nodded "Check. It only needs new paint but that can be done anytime."

"Omnitool?"

"The basics"

"Grenades?"

It continued like this for quite a while and Trevelyan was bored. And annoyed - she understood it was for her benefit but she felt like a child. Hopefully after her first introduction to combat, things will change.

"Trevelyan?"

"Apologies, I wasn't listening"

Shepard waved it off "Jacob said you wanted to add your templar… skirt to your armor. Yeah, not going to happen."

"It's not a skirt! And I don't see why everybody is so against it!"

"I just meant is would probably got shredded or set on fire" the red-head arched her eyebrows.

"Oh"

"And you're way too attached to it"

"'m not"

"It's your uniform, I get it" Shepard nodded in understanding, "Jacob will do something about it. Fetch you something durable."

"I will?" the dark-skinned soldier asked.

"Yep"

"Aye, aye"

"Good Cerberus puppy"


	6. Stage One - Denial

"This place is a shithole" Jack commented helpfully.

She wasn't wrong. The planet Korlus was a big salvage yard, no greenery, just ruins and heaps of old metal. And Blue Suns. Lots and lots of Blue Suns. And krogan. And a lunatic on loud-speaker. The only nice thing about the planet was the weather.

_"PURGE YOUR WEAKNESS BY COMBAT, ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE!"_

"Charming" Miranda muttered.

"I could go ahead and ram the loud-speaker down that bitches' throat" Kasumi offered.

"Tempting" Shepard chuckled but her smile fell right off as the team was forced to find cover.

Miranda shot out with an overload and Garrus finished the engineer for her with a headshot. While the rest was laying down cover fire, Trev was particularly proud that she stripped the mercenary's biotic of her barrier.

When the Blue Suns were down Shepard beamed "Great work. And good shooting Trev! And taking cover, you adapted quickly."

The templar arched an eyebrow "Yeah, right, because I never had to hide from magefire and arrows. Oh my, I wonder what my shield was ever for."

"Ok, point taken"

"And 'Trev'?" the noble asked as they moved forward.

"Oh sorry" Shepard looked over her shoulder at Trevelyan, "Heat of battle and all. It's shorter."

"I don't mind" Trev shrugged, it was what her friends called her. She didn't have those anymore but it actually didn't sound too bad to be hearing it again.

"Awesome!" Kasumi quipped, "Shep and Trev. Still thinking about the rest of you."

"Please don't" Miranda sighed as she checked the heat sink of her SMG.

"You can be Miri!" the thief grinned.

Miranda's voice became several degrees colder "Not Miri. Never Miri."

"Touched a nerve, cheerleader?" Jack smirked.

The Cerberus second-in-command sneered and made a step towards the convict but the possible cat fight was delayed by the Blue Suns.

After that the team proceeded mostly in silence.

Trev hung back as ordered so she could watch how the team fought and so far she was impressed - not by the team overall, since they weren't together long, but individually. Shepard was a powerhouse - despite her training as vanguard she stayed with the team, not wandering on the open field, and used her biotics sparingly but with ruthless efficiency. Her favorite was a pull right at the joint of the knee that made the merc fall and easy prey for a headshot or getting into his comrades' line of fire. Same with the throws. Miranda fought similarly but since they had a team full of biotics she used more the technical side of her sentinel training and worked together with Garrus who was the self-proclaimed king of head-shots. And then there was Jack - no finesse but the sheer  _power_ … Compared to that, Jacob looked like an amateur and compensated with his mastery of the shotgun and grenades. That left Kasumi who was just plain infuriating for the Blue Suns on the battlefield - with her cloak she always managed to flank her opponents and her flashbangs were just plain unfair.

"That's the stuff!" Jack shouted in glee as her shockwave caused a krogan soldier to fall off the ledge and onto a death deep below.

"Good work" Shepard smiled at the convict who cleared the floor with another shockwave. Seeing that there were no more enemies in the vicinity she regained her lighter demeanor "Hey Trev, how's it going?"

The templar gritted her teeth "Well, I am uninjured and I am quite convinced I have been holding my own."

"Just checking. And you are." Shepard nodded, "I just wanted to warn you about krogan. I know you said you familiarized yourself with the species but just to be sure. They like to charge and you won't like being on the wrong end of it. I don't care who you think you are, or that you rode unicorns, danced with pixies or fought a dragon but…"

"I've fought a dragon" Trev said nonchalantly while smirking internally. She was quite proud of that.

"Wait, what?" the commander turned to Trev slack-jawed. The templar shrugged so Shepard nodded "Ok, I'll want to hear that story later but I see your point. I'll shut up and trust you know what you're doing."

"Much obliged"

Jack snickered while Miranda looked disapproving. Garrus forestalled any possible argument by shouting "Incoming!"

The team progressed as swiftly as they could but the progress was still rather slow, there really was an overabundance of blue-clad mercenaries. Fortunately as they climbed higher the metal towers, presumably where Okeer was to have his lab, more opportunities to simply make their opponents fall to their death occurred, bringing them back on their time-table. Also, as there were no injuries so far, Shepard seemed to light up even during combat, going as far as to chuckle when Miranda taunted one of the opposing biotics with "Night, night!" when her SMG rang true.

_"KILL THE INTRUDERS AND PROVE YOURSELVES TO ME!"_

"She's really getting on my nerves" Garrus hummed as he patiently reloaded behind a big pillar before aiming at another enemy.

"Dibs!" Jack exclaimed.

Shepard finished her clip before speaking "Nope, commander's prerogative. And I so do hope that Okeer won't want to keep Jedore alive, that would be a bummer."

As they cleared a bridge Jacob piped up "Shouldn't it be more a target of opportunity?"

"First come, first served? Not when loudspeakers are involved" Shepard shook her head.

"Aww" Kasumi appeared next to her with a pout.

Jack snorted "We'll see Shepard."

The commander seemed to pout as well, not that it could be seen behind a full-plated helmet, but then immediately regained her serious battle-focused demeanor "Garrus you open the door, Miranda overload anything with shields, I'm charging in. The rest follow. On my mark. Three, two, one!"

The door opened but there was only one person inside, not even in armor. The asari hurried in raising her hands in surrender "Don't shoot!"

Shepard lowered her shotgun and cocked her head to the side "Have we met? I feel that we have met."

"Seducing asari on the job?" Garrus smirked, "Ahh, brings back memories."

"Shepard? Commander Shepard, the Spectre?" the asari queried with a frown, "I thought she was dead?"

"I got better. Now, I really know you from somewhere and I usually go to places where people need to be shot, so…"

"Wait!" the asari exclaimed "Virmire! You let me go! Scientist, only a scientist!"

"I remember now. Didn't think you'd outrun the nuke though" the commander shrugged, "Why are you here?"

"Helping Okeer with his genophage research" the scientist replied, uneasy at Shepard's response.

"Ah. Yes, you would have the experience after Saren's krogan clones" the commander hummed.

Trev was quite unhappy and spoke even if she felt it wasn't her place "Quite a lot of corpses here for 'research'."

"What she said" Jack surprisingly agreed.

"They are tank bred" the asari hastened to explain, "Okeer's failures. He made them, they weren't really alive. And they ceased to function in the tank. It's not like we killed them."

"What is Okeer trying to do?" Shepard pressed on. The scientist took a breath to start explaining but Shepard interjected "Small words. And to the point, we are in a hurry."

The asari nodded "He is trying to create a perfect krogan, one unburdened by the genophage."

"He isn't searching for a cure then" Miranda hummed.

"No. Okeer's methods might be quite singular, but he's quite the genius. He.." the asari said but was interrupted by Shepard once again.

"Like Saren?"

"Of course not. But the krogan deserve a second chance!" the scientist said heatedly but then took a step back and said much more calmly, "Everyone deserves a second chance, right?"

"Indeed"

"So, may I go?" the asari asked with a small smile.

"No. That would be a third chance" Shepard said coldly and raised her pistol in her off hand.

"Shepard!" Miranda exclaimed in surprise when the asari scientist dropped to the ground, dead. Jacob seemed surprised as well, now eyeing the commander with suspicion.

Garrus on the other hand nodded "Good, I was surprised you let her go the first time."

"Really? That wasn't in the report" Miranda frowned absently.

Jack laughed in delight "Cerberus dropping the ball? How precious."

Trev took another glance at the corpses in the lab and then nodded "It seems like a just sentence."

"Let's continue. Everyone, stay sharp!" Shepard holstered her pistol and took up her shotgun once again.

"Aye, aye!" Kasumi mock-saluted, causing Jacob to give her a glare. The thief smiled "Just kidding, muscles. Let's go!"

"Hey, I exercise too! Why is he muscles and not I?" Shepard permitted one more quip.

"I don't swing that way, Shep" Kasumi grinned, "If that was the case, 'muscles' would be Trev."

All the eyes turned to the templar who blushed, inwardly cursing the sentry interface for not covering her cheeks. Plus she was athletic, but hardly Iron Bull. That just wasn't attractive.

"Must be the armor" Shepard nodded seriously even if her voice was tinged with a smile.

"'m not overly muscled" Trev mumbled, offended by the notion. She had the same body-type as Cassandra, and no one could say the seeker was unattractive. Standard templar exercise, nothing more.

"Yeah, I don't see it" Jack nodded.

"Thank you!" the noble exclaimed in relief.

"Aww, didn't mean it that way, Trev" Kasumi caught the other woman in a totally inappropriate hug, "I totally would go for you if I was so inclined."

"Grand" Trev said in her most sarcastic voice.

"Kasumi," Jacob said reproachfully, "Ser Trevelyan is deeply religious, I hardly think such propositions are proper."

"Buzzkill" Kasumi pouted but released the templar.

"Ok, let's go" Shep nodded, "Same positions as before and let's proceed."

The squad burst into the second room and for the second time they encountered no enemies. The krogan next to the tank that housed his latest prototype was Okeer, and Shepard and Miranda immediately approached him. Meanwhile the rest of the team split its attention between the ancient warlord and the rest of the lab.

Jack seemed bored so she approached Kasumi who was once more hanging around the templar. No hugs though. The biotic smirked "Dunno what muscles-for-brains was thinking, but religious or not, you're totally queer."

"Pardon?" the templar frowned, "Queer?"

Kasumi nodded "Pinged my gaydar too."

"I do not understand, EDI has not included those terms in the educational files."

"You're after EDI. Oh, honey" Kasumi grinned teasingly.

Jack laughed "She has a nice voice, but you really can't fuck a voice."

Trev finally got it "Oh, I understand. Back home we call it…"

"Hey guys! We're killing Jedore!" Shepard announced chipperly.

"Awesome!" Jack grinned.

"On the double!" the commander ordered, "She wants to gas us!"

"Rude" Garrus remarked dryly.

The team sped out of the room and downstairs where Okeer has indicated the mercenary leader would be.

"Miranda, Garrus, Trev, take the heavy mech!" Shepard ordered, "The rest focus on the krogan!"

"Who deals with their opponents first gets a shot at the bitch with the loudspeaker!" Kasumi announced.

"It's not a competition!" the commander yelled. And she was completely ignored.

"You're on!" Jack laughed and charged recklessly.

"We'll get her first!" Garrus gave her a turian grin and aimed his sniper.

"I miss the Alliance" Shepard sighed and vaulted over her cover to blur in a biotic charge.

The heavy mech reminded Trev of the giant of a red lyrium behemoth. It was big, heavily armored but slow. And it has shields as well, something Garrus and Miranda immediately began working on with their overloads. Trev aided them by peppering the mech with bullets.

"Shield down!" Miranda exclaimed and exchanged her SMG for a heavy pistol.

Trev, feeling a bit left out on the shield action, used her lesson on grenades and tossed two in rapid succession onto the YMIR, causing a big explosion.

"Good shot! Armor almost through!" Garrus informed with glee.

"Rocket!" Miranda exclaimed in warning and the remaining two had to roll out of cover which was obliterated moments later.

Trev's back found a pillar and she exhaled, this was different yet similar to her fights in Thedas. It was intense but nothing she couldn't handle. And the mech might've been powerful but without real intelligence - now fighting blood mages, that was more of a challenge!

"It's on its last legs!"

The templar exchanged her smile for a proud smirk and let her assault rifle finish the damaged mech. Then she noticed more movement "We've got a krogan here!"

"Damn Shepard and her leftovers" Garrus chuckled.

They divided fire between the two threats, once again forced to change locations due to rockets. As Trev concentrated fire into the krogan's right eye as best she could, she heard Miranda's warning "The mech is going to blow!"

Correctly interpreting that as take cover, Trev dove to the side. The explosion form the mech threw the krogan reject, letting the templar finish him off quite easily.

"You bastards! That explosion killed Jedore! She was supposed to be ours" Jack shouted form the other side of the field.

"Tough" Garrus grinned.

"It was Shep's throw that pushed her back enough" Kasumi interjected, "Therefore we win!"

"Let's just fetch the krogan" Miranda sighed.

"Our win. Most definitely" Garrus ignored her, "Team Vakarian-Lawson-Trevelyan for the win!"

"At least you're normal" the Cerberus operative turned to the templar.

Trev's stoic expression melted into a cheeky smirk "Why not claim our righteous victory?"

As Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose with another sigh, Garrus laughed and patted the templar's arm "Exactly! Our team rule and yours drool!"

Jack growled "Now look, shitstain…"

"New teammate! Upstairs! Let's go!" Shepard interrupted loudly, "And besides, it was totally our win."

"Do we really want him?" Garrus reiterated the question form the briefing.

"We can always chug him out of the airlock later" the commander shrugged and turned to leave.

"She's not serious, right?" Jacob whispered to his white-clad colleague.

Miranda shrugged disinterestedly "I'd say not."

In the end it didn't matter as Okeer was dead, killed by Jedore's gas. Which left one big problem behind. Emphasis on big - both tank and the krogan inside.

"I'm _not_  carrying him" Garrus proclaimed.

"Me either. Leaving it to a petite lady like me would be rude"

"You're a thief, surely you've stolen things this size"

"Not without a plan"

"Let's just call the shuttle with some Cerberus lackeys" was Jack's surprisingly good advice.

"Won't they get shot down? There are still Blue Suns here"

"Do we really care?"

"It  _is_  a nice shuttle"

"Cerberus crew can handle much more than a simple pick-up" Miranda said coldly.

"Whatever"

In the end they did call the shuttle. And after that, the squad went to look for a suitable, and close, landing site.

"So, you've fought a dragon" Shepard prompted Trev with a smile as the girls watched Jacob and Garrus wrestle with the tank.


	7. Stage One - Denial

Trev woke up with a start. She was all sweaty and breathing hard. It wasn't because of a nightmare, her dream was actually quite pleasant. Her hands shook as she tried to wipe the sweat from her brow.  _"Just like Cullen"_  Trev thought as she observed her shaking limbs. She knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, but she had been hoping for later.

" _Ser Trevelyan, are you experiencing distress?"_  EDI's melodious voice asked,  _"Should I inform doctor Chakwas?"_

The templar took several calming breaths and shook her head "No need. It is nothing unusual. I'll be alright in a minute."

" _A visit to the doctor is still recommended_ "

"I'll take it under advisement" Trev smiled, "By the way, what is the time?"

" _Three a.m. shipside_ "

The templar nodded "Thank you EDI."

" _Logging you out, Ser Trevelyan_ "

"You can call me Trev, you know" the noble said as she got out of her bed, "Maker knows I talk to you far more often than the rest of the crew."

" _More socialization is recommended_ "

"Was that a joke?" Trevelyan chuckled.

_"…Yes."_

"Good one" the templar said encouragingly and dressed herself.

" _Thank you, Trev. Logging you out_ "

"Bye"

The hallways of the ship were brightly lit as they always were, no matter the ship's cycle, and Trev had to shield her eyes. She made her way to the mess hall, hoping for some tea. Not that she had high hopes in that regard - nothing could beat Josephine's tea collection, certainly not Gardner and his 'cardboard food'.

It appeared the noble wasn't the only one having difficulties sleeping. "Hey, Shepard."

The red-head jumped up slightly, focusing her far-away gaze "Trev! I didn't hear you."

"My apologies. I was just thinking about some tea. Would you like a cup?" the Trevelyan offered.

Shepard touched the half-full mug in front of her and found it cold "Please, I could use a fresh cup. And it does sound better than coffee."

"I thought this coffee was meant to keep you awake" the blonde templar frowned.

"It does. But I couldn't sleep anyway, so…"

Trev nodded as she raided the kitchen cabinets "Well, this says chamomile. Not that it looks like any chamomile I ever saw but it should be calming enough."

Shepard just sighed. Trev busied herself in making the tea, quite a feat with unfamiliar technology, but she had seen the other crewmembers do it several times before. Finally she proudly presented a cup to the commander.

"You really got used to this, huh?" the red-head sighed.

Trev arched an eyebrow but then she just said "I try."

"I envy that, you know" Shepard eyed the slowly browning liquid, "I've been back a little less than a month but… ah, well. Nice tea."

"You could talk about it you know. Kelly isn't so bad but she is a bard. Perhaps Garrus? I understand he's your friend" the templar hummed.

"Bard? Like singing?" Shepard smirked.

Trev shook her head "In Thedas a bard can also be a spy, saboteur, assassin. That sort of thing. Sometimes Kelly reminds me of the Inquisition's spymaster when she went out incognito. Leliana could do all smiles, cheerful naïve girl too when she wanted. Her favorite act. She used to be like that once from what I heard, the job changed her."

"Spy, yes" the commander nodded, "The rest no. She's reporting to Cerberus. Like we didn't have that enough. Between EDI, Miranda and Kelly, I can't take a piss without the Illusive Man being notified."

"Sound exhausting"

"Yeah. No wonder my old friends in the Alliance are suspicious" Shepard said bitterly.

"And you can't just quit" Trev half-asked.

The vanguard chuckled "I wish. The Alliance or the Council would have me behind bars and checking for control chips and the like, while the colonies would keep disappearing. TIM plays the game well, I really do have nowhere to turn without compromising my goals and my ideals. But hey, I'm at least doing some good."

"Indeed. Those Collectors aside, without you I would've been either dead or in a Cerberus lab"

"Yeah, not fun" Shepard nodded tiredly.

Trev fiddled with her mug for a while and then hesitantly asked "Despite all that, are you glad to be alive?"

The red-head chuckled mirthlessly "I guess. It does beat nothingness."

"Nothingness?"

Shepard shrugged "I don't exactly know what your religion says happens after death but I saw nothing. No bright light, no afterlife, nothing. Just darkness and then Miranda waking me up."

"Maybe you just weren't meant to die that day" Trev said, her faith unshaken.

"God working in mysterious ways, huh?" the commander chuckled.

It was the templar's turn to shrug "Maybe."

The two women continued drinking their tea in silence, both deep in thought. When Shepard finished her beverage she stood up "I'll try to get back to sleep now. You should do the same."

"I will"

"Hey, are you okay?" the commander frowned when Trev nodded and swiped her sweaty hair from her brow.

"Yes, no need to worry" Trev said with a smile.

Shepard seemed hesitant but then shrugged and left with a 'good night'.

* * *

"Gather round kids!" Shepard greeted once her team assembled in the Comm Room, "We're going on an outing!"

"Yeeey" Garrus mocked with a smirk.

"That's the spirit!" Shepard grinned, "So, we are currently in orbit over the charming planet Darantar, home to an Eclipse smuggling depot. We got those coordinates from Aria, as payment for a favor, so expect anything. But it should bring us a pretty penny."

"All hands on deck on this one then" Jacob nodded.

"With Aria involved, most definitely" Miranda agreed.

"Yep. EDI intercepted a transmission from the mercs and they seem to have left once they detected us, but we'll go in full force anyway" Shepard continued.

"They're running scared already? That takes all the fun out of it" Jack grunted.

"Take it as a vacation. With free goodies!" Kasumi said cheerfully.

The commander smiled "Sounds good. Now, everybody is suited up so let's go. Any questions? No, great, to the shuttle then."

The elevator ride was tight, but the team, sans Mordin again, arrived into the cargo bay and then loaded into the shuttle that was piloted by a Cerberus crewmate.

Five minutes later they were approaching the planet's surface. Jack noticed Trevelyan's pre-fight ritual and scoffed "Are you praying?"

"Yes" the templar answered with her eyes still closed.

Jack sneered angrily "Praying is for pussies. Nobody will help you but yourself. Certainly no god will." Trev shrugged, continuing her prayers. Jack scoffed, crossed her arms but didn't speak again.

When the shuttle touched the ground Shepard was first to disembark, her shotgun at the ready.

"YMIR mechs! Awesome! We get to keep them, right?"Kasumi asked.

"I get to calibrate them!" Garrus' exclamation was not far behind.

Jack eyed the turian "Like for real? I thought it was slang for masturbating."

Shepard nearly choked herself laughing while the turian's mandibles were moving agitatedly in embarrassment "No! Of course not!"

"Guys?" Jacob interrupted when he noticed the red lights in the giant mechs' eyes, "I don't think we get to keep them. In one piece at least."

"Take cover!" Miranda exclaimed.

The squad followed the order in a flash, allowing one of the YMIR rockets to pass over their heads.

"They're destroying the cargo" Garrus said elatedly, grateful for the interruption.

"Oh hell no. Those are my credits!" Shepard exclaimed and took the rocket launcher from her back, "Take those fuckers out! Concentrate fire on the right one."

"Aye aye"

*thunk, thunk* impacted two rockets in quick succession. With the shield already down the mech exploded "Hahaha! Take that!"

"One down, two to go" Garrus smirked.

It didn't take long and all three of the Eclipse's mechs were eliminated. After a brief scouting mission Shepard declared the engagement over "OK, 17 crates left. Not bad. Miranda, you organize the pick-up, the rest of you let's poke around."

"I think this is a record for the duration of a mission with you, Shepard. Usually things go to shit on a much bigger scale" Garrus hummed.

"Don't jinx it" Kasumi smacked his back plate.

"She does have a point. I have read the files" Jacob commented, "I even heard Miranda cussing when she did the same. I believe she said that if you were a cat you'd be black and called Thirteen."

"Cerberus cheerleader has a sense of humor? Was it surgically induced?" Jack sniggered.

"You can do that?" Trev asked with interest. The convict eyed her with suspicion but then just shut her mouth with a click and shook her head. The templar shrugged "Pity, I know people that could use such a thing."

"You bitch, you were joking!"

"No surgery needed"

"Yo, Shepard!" Jack called.

The commander looked over her shoulder "Yes?"

"Holy Princess over here is alright"

"Glad to hear that" Shepard chuckled.

"Commander? We're ready for retrieval" Miranda spoke on the comm.

"Awesome, let's get out of here. I need to pick up my dress"

"Dress?" Garrus asked in bewilderment.

"I'm going to a party" Shepard grimaced.

"Not a party, a heist!" Kasumi grinned.

* * *

"Operative Lawson"

"Sir" Miranda immediately brought the communication from her superior to full screen.

"I have received the updated files. Fascinating reading"

"Did the scientists manage to identify that unknown element in Ser Trevelyan's blood?" the brunette asked eagerly.

"No" the Illusive Man smiled, "It truly is unique."

"It must be the root of the Templar power" Miranda mused, "It is the only thing that was of note, otherwise Trevelyan is fully human. The fact she had not mentioned it lends credence to this theory."

"Could it be she simply doesn't know?"

"I don't believe so. Despite her world being close to our Middle Ages, Ser Trevelyan is deceptively perceptive"

"That's quite a compliment coming from you" TIM hummed, "And how is she in other aspects? Your report about her Inquisition and her Maker was most interesting but it depicts a vastly different experience."

"Her combat ability is progressing, she has bonded with the ground team despite still being rather rigid and overly polite, the last one is a very welcome quality, and appears to be more comfortable with her situation but I would deem her to be still in stage one, denial."

TIM nodded "Both yours and Kelly's reports state that Ser Trevelyan's outlook improved much after her first taste in combat - she appears more grounded and confident. I am glad she has not proven to be a liability. Keep mapping her powers and find out about this new element."

"Yes, sir"

"Good"

The vid-call disconnected. Immediately after, the doors to the XO quarters opened to reveal a deceptively cheerful Shepard "Done talking with Illusive Nutjob?"

Miranda frowned "How do you…"

"EDI. I asked why the doors are closed" the commander shrugged, "So, we're going to Omega and I want you on the team since Cerberus is footing Massani's bill. Jacob can handle the resupply."

"Very well, Shepard"

"Anything interesting going on?"

"No, commander"

Shepard shrugged "Ok. Lunch is underway, so I guess I'll see you there."

"I'm not hungry"

"I could make it an order" the red-head smirked, "And Illusive Jackass indubitably said you should keep me happy."

"Why do you insist on using those nicknames for him" Miranda sighed.

"It's fun" Shepard shrugged. It was a tiny rebellion but it did make her feel better. "Come on, we've got stew, I think. But it could also be grilled cheese. Or maybe pasta."

"With a tempting offer like that how could I resist" the operative said dryly.

"Thought so. Let's go"

The whole ground team was present, even the elusive and perpetually busy Mordin - he was actually the one that was speaking, explaining his work in great detail while the rest played with their food in boredom. The only person missing out on the riveting tale was Trevelyan.

"I'll fetch her" Miranda volunteered, seeing it as an opportunity to learn more about the templar as per her orders.

"No, no, I'll do it!" Garrus stood up hastily, "I don't understand all those technical details like you do. I wouldn't want to keep you from all this  ** _fun_**."

"That's alright, professor Mordin has already talked to me about it" Miranda delighted to say.

"No, I insist" Garrus said in his most charming manner.

Jack laughed "This is fun and all but the princess is already here."

Kasumi who brought the templar waved with a big grin while Trev arched an eyebrow "Did I miss something?"

"Garrus and Miranda were arguing over you" Shepard was quick to share.

Trevelyan chuckled at the twin shouts of protest "Ah. I am quite irresistible, that is true."

"Symmetrical facial structure, pleasing voice, sharp features - yes, yes, attractive from human standpoint" Mordin nodded.

"And now Mordin's interested. Trev you heartbreaker you" Shepard laughed.

Jack snickered "You can fuck, right? No priestly vows?"

"And Jack is interested too!"

"Shush, Shepard"

Trev smiled at the silliness of the conversation "I did make vows, but the celibacy one was not among them."

"EDI prepare a ship-wide announcement" Shepard beamed.

"Don't you dare" Trevelyan's eyes narrowed.

"Be careful, she might smite you" Kasumi grinned

"Fire and brimstone" Jacob piped up.

"And there always is the old fashioned shield bash" the Ostwick noble said pointedly.

Shepard crossed her arms and huffed dramatically "Alright, alright. And here I was being a good friend, playing matchmaker. You know, I think I'm going to go and find a new friend."

"And is that friend swimming in a tank right now by any chance?" Miranda narrowed her eyes.

"I think he's more like standing there" the commander smirked.

"I have concerns"

"So you said before," Shepard sighed, "But we can't keep him in the cargo hold like a giant paperweight."

"Cerberus would…"

"I'm waking him" the red-headed commander said firmly.

Jacob nodded "If it comes to it we could always vent the hold."

"Don't" Shepard growled, "I've been vented one too many times already."

"I'm sorry Shepard" the Cerberus operative exclaimed in realization, "I meant just a precaution…"

"We get it, dipshit" Jack rolled her eyes.

The commander stood up "Don't eat all the food, I bet our new krogan will be hungry."

"No chance of that" Kasumi poked a suspicious lump on her plate.

"Not most appetizing, but full of nutrients" Mordin chimed in, "Still, for morale purposes would recommend better supplies. Or new cook."

"And I would recommend back-up" Miranda spoke, "The krogan will most likely be disoriented and violent."

"No shit" Jack contributed.

"Nah, I got a feeling that we're going to be pals" Shepard smiled and left the mess hall.

"You could rebuild her again, right?" Jacob leaned towards Miranda.

* * *

"Ser Trevelyan?"

The templar looked up for her muted omnitool screen "Yes, miss Lawson?"

Miranda frowned at the darkened room "Everything alright?"

"Just a headache. Did the commander wake the krogan?"

"His name is, apparently, Grunt"

"Grunt?" Trev arched an eyebrow.

"Indeed. And Shepard only got bruised ribs out of the altercation, so a success" the brunette's mouth dropped in annoyance.

"With your technology that shouldn't be a problem"

"That's not the point"

The templar chuckled lightly, as not to aggravate her headache "So, how can I help you operative?"

"Just wanted to check in" Miranda shrugged minutely, "EDI said you are 'experiencing distress'."

"Ah. Well, that's hardly surprising considering my circumstances" Trev shrugged. Of course that circumstance was being in the early stages of lyrium withdrawal, but the Cerberus lieutenant didn't need to know that.

"True" the operative agreed easily and sat down on the sofa in Starboard Observation. "How is your omni-tool coming?"

Trevelyan sighed and returned her gaze to the machine "Not well. EDI tried but I'm afraid I still am quite hopeless."

"Do you want some help?" Miranda surprisingly offered.

"I'd appreciate it"

"What can you do so far?"

The templar chuckled "Turn it on? But I believe I can also send a message if someone else puts the contact in the list. Ah, and the extranet. I'm not touching that - EDI recommended… filters, I believe?"

Miranda allowed herself a chuckle "Yes, that would be prudent."

"Also Kasumi had… installed, an omni-shield. It sounds useful"

"Indeed?" the operative arched her eyebrows, "That is classified Alliance technology. Impressive."

"So Kasumi said"

"How about we tackle paying for things. That is useful" Miranda proposed and fired up her own omni-tool.

"I have money?"


	8. Stage One - Denial

"And this is why I always take at least two teammates with me on any mission" Shepard said loudly when she and Kasumi disembarked from the shuttle onto the Normandy's cargo bay.

"It was fun, Shep. And we got away clean" the thief shrugged, "Although, I usually get away cleaner, that's true."

"We went against a fucking gunship! Just you and me. Not fun!"

"Well, we could've hardly brought more people with us. It was a party"

"We could've been Alison Gunn and her harem!"

Kasumi paused "You know, that might've actually worked."

"Totally would've because Hock was a disgusting sleaze with a rape mustache" Shepard grimaced.

"Nice dress"

Shepard looked over to the gun range to find a smirking Trevelyan "Shush, you keep doing your shooting."

"I thought you had your armor stashed somewhere" Trev didn't relent.

"Things didn't go exactly according to plan" the commander turned to glare at Kasumi.

"We did it, didn't we?" the thief huffed, "Mission accomplished, loyalty secured, all that. I'm going for a shower. Ta!" With that Kasumi disappeared under her cloak.

"Well, the champagne wasn't too bad" Shepard murmured when she was reasonably sure the Japanese woman wasn't in hearing distance anymore.

Trev chuckled teasingly "Drinking on the job?"

Shep huffed "I needed something to distract me - when I first asked Kasumi what the plan was, did you know what she said? Cleavage!"

"Well, it is a nice  _plan_ "

The commander eyed the still smirking templar "You know, I like you better when you are all pious and demure."

"I merely follow my commander's example"

"It's all Cerberus' fault! In the Alliance I was a hard-ass, all this freedom, no matter how imagined, has gotten to my head" Shepard exclaimed dramatically.

Trev hummed "Truly? And here Garrus said you always liked to… 'stick it' I believe he said."

"Only unofficially"

"I was led to believe this entire operation is unofficial"

"Aha! You see, Cerberus is at fault" Shepard said triumphantly.

"As you say" the templar chuckled and returned to her firing stance.

The red-head eyed the distant target "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been shooting the rifle for years."

"Thank you" Trev bowed minutely at the compliment, "I have no duties aboard so I practice."

"Well, keep up the good work then," Shepard shrugged, "I'm going to get this dress off. And shower."

"Looks to be a wise idea"

"Yeah, yeah"

Just as Shepard called for the elevator the doors opened to reveal Jacob with a bundle in his arms. He whistled in admiration at the commander's attire. When he realized what he had done, he cleared his throat and saluted awkwardly. Shepard rolled her eyes and shoved him out of the elevator. When the door closed again Jacob breathed out "Damn."

"That is the prevalent sentiment" the templar laughed.

Jacob cleared his throat again and approached the noble "I've got something for you. When we restocked at Omega I picked up something. I patched this out of two battle coats - some people use them, since they are apparently 'cool'. It's not colored yet, but try it on."

"You made me a templar uniform?" Trevelyan marveled as she unfolded the strangely rigid fabric.

"It qualifies as armor and I  _am_  the armor guy aboard" the man said with a proud grin, "You can take this on missions no problem."

"Thank you operative Taylor" Trev said with a grateful smile.

"Call me Jacob, we are a team after all"

"Trev"

"Let's get this thing colored, shall we?"

"This  _thing_  is my uniform" Trev said as haughtily as she could while still keeping a straight face.

"Not yet" Jacob sing-songed.

/

"Looking good, Ser Trevelyan" Kasumi said with a truly over-the-top curtsy.

Trev smiled and patted her new addition to her armor "Thank you, Jacob made it."

"Muscles? Not only yummy but kind as well. Score"

"Ugh"

"Don't make that face. I cloak to watch Jacob exercise, you like you to ogle Miranda's ass…ets. To each their own"

"You do it too. Everybody does"

"You have a point, her uniform-thingy is practically made for being ogled"

"Enough chit-chat! We're here to train!" Shepard demanded everyone's attention, "So! All of you, us, are professionals, but as a team we're new. Sure, we have run the some missions together but practice makes perfect. So I devised this little training exercise. And to stave off any questions, this is a  _mandatory_ exercise. To get used to each other's styles and capabilities. Team building if you will."

"We'll be best goddamn friends" Zaeed said derisively, his raspy voice perfect for it.

"If anyone thinks I'll be getting chummy with any Cerberus…" Jack began but Shepard shot her an icy glare, "Alright. Whatever. You better get me some booze afterward."

"It warms my heart to hear such enthusiasm," the commander smiled sweetly, "If anyone has issues, I'd point out that it was Operative Taylor who noticed training ammo for all weapons in the Omega markets. Give the man a round of applause."

"We'll be thanking you later" Jack bared her teeth at Jacob who was very intently studying his shotgun.

"Heh, heh, heh" Grunt said gleefully.

"Let's just get this over with" Miranda sighed.

Shepard pouted "And here I thought you'd be thrilled Lawson, more familiarity makes the team more efficient. After 'reports' isn't that your favorite word?"

"Better than calibrations" the operative sniffed.

"Hey!" Garrus protested while the rest snickered.

"See, we're pals already" Zaeed snarked again.

"Good! So, I have modified several Alliance training scenarios for our purposes and means. Everybody, welcome to exercise One!"

/

It wasn't until exercise 3 that things went to hell. 'Three' was a biotics VS everybody else which somehow ended in a private catfight between Jack and Miranda.

'Four' melted part of the bulkhead when Mordin got over-excited.

Everybody agreed not to mention 'Five' ever again.

'Six' went surprisingly well so Shepard decided to end it all on a high note. The squad dispersed immediately after that. Unsurprisingly they reconvened at the local bar in Port Observation, only Miranda and Mordin as the exceptions. It ended being a better bonding exercise than their training before. And it wasn't as catastrophic. The most memorable thing was Jacob, plied by many drinks Kasumi brought him, standing on the table singing Bohemian Rhapsody with Zaeed joining in. Hardly worth mentioning. Worse, at least financially, was the empted bar, mostly Grunt's handiwork although Garrus was not far behind with his, quote, 'dextro pride'.

Trev decided to retire early, not daring to imbibe too much on foreign alcohol. Shepard seemed to have a similar idea, being the responsible commander and all. Mutterings about Cerberus fucking up her metabolism making it near impossible to get buzzed notwithstanding.

* * *

Shepard eyed the message she had just received. From Cerberus Command.  _Cerberus Command_. It felt wrong, very very wrong.

"Commander?"

The red-head eyed the annoyance at her right and sighed "Kelly, be so kind and call the ground team to the Comm Room."

"Of course, commander" Kelly said brightly.

" _Of course, commander"_  Shepard parroted mockingly in her head. With another sigh she locked the terminal and made her own way to the Comm Room, waiting on her squad.

Mordin and Jacob were already there, being closest to the room. Shepard arched an eyebrow to the salarian scientist who shrugged "Seeker swarms countermeasure almost ready. Waiting on simulations' results. Almost certain of success."

"That's great news!" the vanguard perked up.

Once everybody was present Shepard addressed them "Since the shopping list for teammates is done and we have technically nothing to do,  _Cerberus Command_  saw fit to ask us to check out planet Lorek. Apparently it is a  _delicate matter_  and they trust  _our discretion_."

"They do?" Garrus asked in surprise and turned towards Miranda who shrugged.

"Funny that" Trev hummed.

Miranda ignored the comments "What are we meant to do?"

"You didn't read my mail?" Shepard asked, genuinely surprised. The brunette eyed her in an unimpressed manner. Shep shrugged "We're to extract an operative. If he's beyond rescue, and that is a quote, we are to recover his intel."

"Fuck that" Jack snorted.

"I want to fight" Grunt countered with a growl.

"That's great because we're on our way to the Omega Nebula, we should be to Lorek in a jiffy. Suit up and be ready to roll" the commander ordered, "Oh and Trev? By the looks of it Lorek is a nice planet. After Korlus and Darantar it might be a nice change, you know, to show you this dimension isn't really a dump."

The templar chuckled "It'd be a nice change but to be honest anything that isn't space is a wonderful opportunity."

"Oh, right. Can't really relate - spacer here" Shepard said sheepishly.

"You can tell by that magnificent tan" Garrus smirked. The paler-than-a-ghost commander rolled her eyes.

"I have been meaning to remark on that" Trev hummed.

"Commander, I'd like to talk to you about the mission" Miranda spoke up after powering down her omni-tool.

"You know something specific?"

"No, but…"

"Oh, alright" Shepard sighed.

Garrus and Trev took it as a dismissal and left with a nod. Once outside the Comm Room the templar hummed "You promised me another episode of Shepard VS Saren."

"Got you hooked, huh? Maybe I should publish it" Garrus grinned.

"A novel wouldn't have exploding sounds. And I particularly like you mimicking biotics. And flight sounds"

"And here I thought geth movement would be a favorite"

"It's high on the list"

"So, where were we. Ah! Singing quarians!"

"Geth data as pilgrimage gift, yes"

"Sounds less exciting when you say it"

/

"Commander?" Miranda said forcefully.

Shepard gave Jacob her helmet and sighed "Yes, let's take this to your office."

The Cerberus operative grimaced for a moment but then her face smoothed into her usual cold expressionless façade. That changed into a deep frown once the two women entered the XO office.

"Before you start, I uploaded the information to the Normandy, ergo into Cerberus hands"

"You sent it to the Alliance too, to Admiral Hackett"

"Of course I did" the red-head huffed, "You seriously expected any different?"

"A girl can dream"

Shepard burst into laughter "I just pictured the Illusive Man with pigtails."

"Hilarious" Miranda said dryly.

"It is, I can see your smile under all that poker face"

"Hardly, my poker face is perfect, like the rest of me" the operative said half-jokingly.

"You find me funny. Admit it, admit it, admit it, admit it!"

"Thank god we have found Ser Trevelyan, she balances the team more towards sane. Of course that was before the krogan kid you adopted"

"You have a problem with my kid? Because mommy's proud, he definitely has the shogun skillz form my side of the family"

"Does Captain Hannah Shepard know she has a krogan grandchild? And  _skillz_?"

Shepard went paler than usual "Crap. Does she know I'm alive, did you sent out a memo?"

"A memo," Miranda said with an expression that was practically crystallized contempt, "Like what."

"I dunno. We are Cerberus, we are terrorists. Hail the human race. Btw, Commander Shepard is alive and kicking but can't take your calls"

"We are not terrorists. And…" the brunette sighed exasperatedly, tired of repeating it, "And you're perfectly free to contact her. Why, you can even use my terminal here. Let me just grab the popcorn first, I don't want to miss the show."

"You're mean" Shepard pouted, "I didn't poke into your daddy issues, don't poke into my mommy issues."

Miranda paused for a millisecond and then nodded contritely "You're right. I'm sorry."

"God, I really need to write Hannah, don't I? Maybe the Collectors could kill me first?" the red-head said hopefully.

The operative arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, didn't think so too" Shepard rubber her face, "Well, I'm going upstairs to write the letter."

"Can't be that bad, she seemed like a nice person"

"Ya, you'd like her"

Miranda's eyes narrowed "Can't disconcert if that was an insult or not."

"Up to you"

* * *

Trev awoke with a gasp but unable to move outside of her body's shaking. She got a taste of what Cullen had been going though this past two weeks, but this was the real deal.

" _Trev, are you…"_

"NO, EDI! I am not experiencing distress" the templar snapped.

_"… Acknowledged_ "

"I'm sorry EDI, I shouldn't take it out on you" Trev apologized softly, rubbing her eyes.

_"Short temper is one of the symptoms of drug withdrawal. Along with shakes, nightmares, insomnia and restlessness"_

Trevelyan let out a long sigh. She knew she couldn't keep it under wraps, but she was determined to try. "And what is Cerberus going to do about it?"

" _Symptoms of withdrawal are common knowledge_ "

The woman barked out a laugh "Thank you EDI. I owe you."

" _Upon continued distress, I would recommend consulting with professor Solus_ "

Trev rose from her bed shakily "That's, that's actually not a bad idea." The salarian was a bit crazy but it truly did seem he wasn't reporting to anyone. Certainly not Cerberus. Maybe when he wasn't so perpetually busy. "Thanks EDI."

" _Logging you out_ "

"You could just reply with a 'no problem' or 'of course, Trev' you know"

…

"Yeah, logged out. Still don't know what does that mean"

…

"And now I know you do that on purpose" Trev chuckled, the AI lifted her spirits considerably. She had begun considering EDI a friend, even if the extranet and Citadel law seemed to disagree it was even a possibility.

She made the now memorized way into the mess hall for a midnight cup of calming tea. She wasn't the only regular sitting at one of the tables. "Hey, Shepard."

"Hey" the red-head chuckled and raised her cup in greeting. When she noticed the shaking hands she frowned and offered "Should I make it for you?"

"Please"

"Bad dreams?"

Trev shrugged noncommittally. It wasn't really worth commenting, for both of them. Just as it wasn't necessary to comment about Shep's red eyes, sure sign that she'd been crying recently.

"Here you go" the commander deposited the tea on the table.

"Thank you, Shepard"

As was routine the two drank in silence at first. Trev broke it "So I heard our destination."

"Who from?"

"Kelly"

"Meddling cunt she is"

The templar nearly spit her tea at the suddenness of it. Although Shepard was always less than complimentary about Cerberus personnel, the yeoman in particular.

"Yeah, we're heading to Alchera. My grave for all intents and purposes"

"I don't have any flowers"

Shepard chuckled "That's alright. Think I'll survive."

"Good one"

"I still feel it you know" the commander said absently, "I wasn't completely out when I hit the atmosphere. I felt the heat if only briefly. My vision was mostly black and I couldn't breathe and I irrevocably knew I was about to die. Still, I was trying to catch a breath but failing every time. I so desperately wanted to live."

Trev hesitated "Well, you got your wish."

Shepard snorted "Right. Lucky me."

"Not to sound insensitive but yes, pretty much"

"I know" the commander chuckled, "Second chance and all that, pity it's all fucked up. Also, I kinda expected some religious quote from you. Like Ashley used to quote poetry - she used to be my teammate although now she'd shoot me on sight I imagine, as soon as she spotted Cerberus colors."

" _The deep dark before dawn's first light seems eternal, but know that the sun always rises_ " Trev smirked, reciting the Chant of Light.

"Thaaaat's the stuff"

"Happy to oblige"

The two soldiers fell silent again. After a while Shepard sighed and stood up "Well, I'm going to turn in. It's not often you get to visit the site of your death. And of so many others."

"My condolences. That didn't even occur to me"

"Yeah. Well, good night. You should really go too"

"Maybe later, I think I'll try challenging EDI at chess again"

Shepard arched an eyebrow "You know you have no chance against an AI."

"Eh, I'm used to losing in chess - I used to play with Commander Cullen back home, I hardly won then"

"Suit yourself"

"Good night, Shepard"

"Night"

"So, EDI, ready for my comeback and glorious victory?"

" _Statistics does not favor you. 36 to your zero. Are you sure in your choice of game? Perhaps checkers would be better_ "

"Oooh, trash talk. This is getting serious"

" _According to my search, the words 'bring it on' are appropriate for this situation_ "


	9. Stage One - Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much the entire chapter is dedicated to the Horizon mission. I hope it's adequate - I'm not really great at fight, resp. shooting, scenes.

"If you're not going to eat that, I'll take it" Jack made a motion with her fork.

Shepard sighed and pushed her plate toward the convict "Go ahead."

"I admit it's much better than usual but enough not for seconds" Kasumi remarked.

"Should eat Shepard, need energy for missions" Mordin spoke up.

Garrus nodded "It's bad enough that Trev skipped and Miranda's in her dungeon again."

"Why'd Saint T skip anyway?" Jack asked in the middle of scarfing down her new portion.

"Apparently she's not feeling well"

"Weak" Grunt huffed.

"Need I remind you she knocked you on your ass?" the master thief smiled sweetly.

"That was awesome" Jacob nodded with a smirk, proud of a human besting a krogan.

"Really?" Shepard arched an eyebrow, skeptical, "When?  _How_? No offense to Trev, but you know what I mean."

"Humph" Grunt stabbed his food.

"Grunt charged her and she used my shield. And withstood it. He got zapped by it afterwards. It was hilarious. Pity I didn't catch it on video" Kasumi giggled.

"What shield?" Shepard asked.

" _Commander!"_  Joker interrupted on the intercom,  _"You got the head honcho on the line for you. Seemed urgent."_

"Commander!" Miranda strode from her office, "The Illusive Man…"

"I know, I know, I'm going" Shepard sighed and stood up, "It really must be something."

The operative would normally roll her eyes but now she just nodded "The Collectors have struck again."

"Shit"

/

The entire ground team was suited up in the shuttle bay, waiting for the Normandy to drop out of FTL. Everybody was last-minute checking their guns and clips, readying for a fight while Miranda briefed them on the known capabilities of the Collectors.

"Remember, full-on helmets. And don't worry about the seekers, Mordin did his thing" Shepard finished up.

The salarian nodded "Should work."

"Should?" Jacob wasn't thrilled. Mordin just smiled and returned his attention to his omnitool.

"If it doesn't work I'm going to kill you. I wore this fucking armor just for that thingy of yours" Jack growled at her light armor.

"You look lovely" Garrus chuckled.

"Shut it bird man!"

"It certainly is an improvement" Miranda added with an amused smirk.

"Fuck you all"

The Normandy lurched slightly, signifying the end of their journey. Joker confirmed it a moment later.

"Ok, folks, let's go"

The ground team loaded into the shuttle. With ten people it was a tight fit, especially with bulky armor, but with Joker giving the go signal not long after, they didn't mind overly much.

"Not praying today?" Jack asked snidely. Trev shook her head and didn't rise to the bait.

"You alright? You look hot" Shepard said in a worried tone. Kasumi and Jack snickered. The vanguard flushed but rolled her eyes "I meant like feverish and you know it."

"I'm alright" the templar smiled tiredly.

"You sure you're good to go?"

"I'm not in top shape but no bugs are going to get me" Trevelyan said decisively, "Besides, those Collectors have barriers so you can use me."

The commander eyed Trev for a second and nodded "You're right. But as soon as we get back you go see Chakwas."

"Aye, aye"

"We'll split up, cover more ground. The attack is apparently still in progress, so our goal is to drive them away first, then we'll pull out the bug spray. Garrus, you lead the second team. Take Trev, Jack, Grunt and Jacob. Stay on the comm."

Miranda pursed her lips, clearly less than happy by Shepard's choice of leader, aka not her, but let it go without comment. Garrus for his part wasn't overly thrilled either but nodded his assent.

Jack opened her mouth, no doubt intent on taunting Miranda, but Shepard silenced her with a glare. The convict huffed and donned her new full-plate helmet.

The rest of the journey was made in silence until the shuttle finally landed. Shepard was first out, closely followed by Grunt. "Ok, people, let's do this. Garrus, you take the left."

"On it"

The Normandy ground team split up, Garrus and his people taking the high road while Shepard took hers right into the heart of the colony.

"Where is everyone?" Jack spoke up after a while.

"No colonists" Jacob worried, "Bad news."

"No enemies" Grunt said disgruntledly, "Worse news."

"Their ship is still here" Garrus remarked, "Let's get a move on."

A moment later the group heard loud gunfire from Shepard's presumed position. Grunt cocked his shotgun "Knew I should've gone with Shepard."

Garrus cast an annoyed glare at the krogan and brought his talon to his ear in an attempt to contact his commander. He was greeted by static "Comms are down."

"Contact!" Trev shouted and got into cover.

"Heh, heh, heh"

Following Grunt's charge, Jack launched her patented shockwave while the rest peppered the Collectors with bullets.

"Jack, forget the shockwave and join Trev in stripping them of their barrier!" Garrus barked his first order as team leader.

"I don't like the warp"

"I bet if Miranda was here, she'd be able to help me" the templar taunted.

Jack growled "I know what you're doing." Nonetheless her next move was to fire a warp at the Collector that was looking to ambush them form a second story balcony.

"Scooped and dropped!"

The rest of his team rolled their eyes at Garrus' poor one-liner and continued shooting. They almost had them all when they were forced back into cover as another wave of enemies came rushing in. The new ones immediately go into the best available positions, giving truth to all that hive-mind theory.

"We need to move" Trev said, reloading her Mattock.

"Grunt?" Garrus prompted.

The krogan grinned widely and charged, tanking the damage with the help of a nifty barrier, courtesy of Jacob. The rest quickly changed cover, Garrus managing to even score high ground.

"Those dudes can fly?!" Jack shouted when the remaining trio of Collectors decided to relocate as well after losing many of their comrades.

"Bugs" Grunt said in a disgusted voice and got one of them with his shotgun.

"All tangos down" Jacob declared.

The team did a quick sweep. When they found no surprises, Garrus ordered to proceed.

The city was now eerily silent and they still didn't encounter any colonists. Jacob tried the comm again but they were still down.

As they moved into another square, seems the Collectors were nice enough to pick kill zones with plenty of cover, Garrus picked up a flashing datapad off a nearby table.

"What is it?" Jacob asked.

"Seems the Alliance installed an AA Tower" the turian explained and put the pad down.

Trev looked at Jack questioningly. The convict shrugged "Big honking gun that should be firing at that ship right now."

"Maybe it's damaged" Jacob mused.

"Let's find it" Garrus shrugged and put his sniper back into ready position.

"How did a farm colony get a defense cannon?" Jack asked in suspicion.

"Who cares," Grunt growled, "Let's go."

The B team continued on, crossing into another area. Their silent professional approach meant they got a drop on another dozen of Collectors. Normally that would be good news but they had to refrain from more devastating or wide area attacks since the square was full of fleshy-looking pods and frozen colonists.

"Husks!" Garrus exclaimed, a bit shrilly actually, at the release of the grey-bluish skinned zombies.

"Are they possessed?" Trev frowned.

"Just kill them!"

The templar was a bit rattled but obeyed, aiming her assault rifle to center mass. She was glad those creatures didn't have the barriers the Collectors had because she had abused her templar abilities quite a lot today. Although she wasn't as tired as usual, which was peculiar since Cullen said he felt his power weakening almost immediately after quitting lyrium. She chalked it up to biotics being different than magic, but it still bore looking into.

"Fuck!" Jack swore as her retreat was blocked by a frozen colonist, causing her to trip and getting swarmed by several husks.

Trev quickly bashed two across the head with the butt of her rifle but it was Grunt who got them off of the convict, simply by picking them up and throwing them away.

Trev dragged her behind cover "Alright?"

"Yeah, fuckers surprised me. Now get off me"

"Sure, but Garrus got the last collector and Jacob is mopping up the… husks? Yes, those"

Jack grunted and stood up to join the rest of the team which was now inspecting the frozen colonists. It was quite creepy - it was clear they were merely immobilized, not unconscious. Their eyes were terrified.

"It's some kind of stasis" Jacob commented.

"No shit" the convict rolled her eyes, "Glad Mordin's stuff holds."

Trev nodded "They just pass us by. Still, they're a very efficient weapon. But I'm more curious about those husks."

Garrus hummed "Tell you after. But their presence here means now we know for certain the Collectors are working with the Reapers."

"They must've taken a good chunk of the population already" Jacob said sadly, looking over all the pods.

"Let's get them out" Garrus instructed.

"They are safe already, shouldn't we rather save more of them?"

"Shepard can handle it. But let's be quick"

The team busied freeing the no doubt already traumatized colonist out of the pods. After several pods Trev scolded her team like little kids about being heartless and made them all say a few words of comfort to the frozen colonists. Jack and Grunt were unhappy, but Trev pulled her best Seeker Pentegast glare, rendered less effective by the helmet. Still, the intention was clear and the chaos twins obliged. Even if Jack's line was "Hang on, it won't suck forever." Still better than Grunt's "We'll lay waste to the Collectors. You'll be avenged."

Once all the colonists, still unfortunately few, were out of the pods and staring at the sky, Garrus called them back into formation.

They encountered their enemy twice more, in the last wave getting a new kind of Collector, a heavy artillery piece. On legs. With a hump. And a disgusting corpse-face. He packed quite a punch, especially when one of his shots collided with a fuel tank, the explosion clipping Jacob on the side.

"That bunker is still closed, we might find survivors there" the Cerberus operative pointed after he sat down to let the medigel work its magic.

Trev shook her head "They'd just get frozen with the rest."

"I agree," Garrus nodded, "We leave them. And I spotted the AA Tower, we might do some creative running to get there."

"We should've gotten EDI to download the schematics of this town"

"Let's just go through" Grunt rolled his eyes.

Jack pumped her biotic aura up "I'm good with through."

"We're  _not_  going  _through_ " the turian said sternly.

"Why not?"

"What about over?" Trev shrugged, "All those weird houses have flat roofs."

"Excellent idea!" Garrus exclaimed in relief, "Let's do that."

Jacob stood up and stretched a bit to gauge his healing "Good call."

"Through would've been more fun" Jack shrugged, even though the sane part of the team was fairly certain she was just joking.

"It has less cover so let's make it quick" Jacob hummed.

Grunt was already hopping over two crates and climbing up "So shut up and move already. Phe, humans."

"Pardon?" Garrus asked sweetly.

"Don't get me started on turians"

The sniper chuckled and followed his team in climbing the pre-fab and then free-funning towards the Defense Cannon. Surprisingly they didn't encounter any Collectors. Once they reached the plaza that held their target, it ceased to be surprising as all the bug-men were swarming Shepard and her A Team.

Garrus immediately bunkered down with his Viper while the rest had to get closer to unleash all their talents.

"Hey, guys!" Shepard greeted, "Nice to join us. FYI the glowy ones talk."

"You smoking something?" was Jack's contribution.

"Who glows?" Jacob questioned.

"SHEPARD. THIS HURTS YOU."

"That guy" the commander said before blurring into her patented charge routine.

"YOU CANNOT STOP US. WE ARE YOUR GENETIC DESTINY. DO NOT RESIST…"

The glowing Collector got disintegrated in a biotic explosion triggered by Miranda's warp.

"EDI, how long till you're done?" Shepard tapped her ear.

"Incoming!" Zaeed rasped, making the team bunker down again.

" _Targeting complete_ ," EDI chimed in, " _Firing at Collector vessel_."

"Finally!"

The next wave was massive, as if their enemy knew they were planning on attacking the ship directly. Two of those artillery giants, a dozens of husks and the inevitable Collector drones. A true party.

Garrus had their backs as he sniped as fast as he could reload, while the biotics worked on crowd control. To everybody's astonishments the most effective was the Jacob/Jack duo with their biotic combos. Zaeed's grenades kept the vultures at bay as the Normandy team shot down every foe.

Victory was almost at hand when a loud screech alerted them to a new threat.

"The fuck is that?" Jack shouted from behind her cover.

"I'm sick of bugs already" Kasumi groaned.

Miranda checked her omnitool "Cerberus calls this one a Pretorian. We have seen only one of this kind before. It's heavily armored."

"Awesome. We know it's name" Zaeed said dryly.

"Trev, it has a strong barrier" Shepard called.

The templar eyed the floating scarab, indeed feeling the power of the barrier "I'm on it."

Usually when using the main templar ability, magic is denied in all its entirety within the person, no matter how skilled the mage is or how deep his reserves, but the pretorian's barrier proved to be hard to drain. And took a long time, as opposite to the usual instant.

" _Most peculiar_ " Trev thought as the barrier was no more. Then she doubled over and nearly collapsed behind her crate.

"Yeeehah! Rocket launcher for the win. You alright Trev?" Shepard asked when much of the armor was burned off.

"Dizzy" the templar replied faintly, "You seem to have his well in hand so I'll just… sit. For a minute."

"Sure thing. Miranda, cover her"

"Aye, aye"

With Grunt taking most of the bugs' attention, using surprisingly graceful moves to avoid its devastating beam, and the tech-wise team members using incinerate, the pretorian screeched again and dropped. Mordin was most curious about it but reluctantly joined the rest in another barrage at Shepard's laughed order 'kill it with fire!'

As the bug slowly turned to ash, everybody did another sweep of the plaza.

"Was that all of them?" Kasumi asked.

"Seems so" Garrus' voice spoke on the radio and the turian himself started to hop down the rooftops.

" _Collector vessel is taking off_ ," EDI informed, " _It has taken significant damage_."

"Well, Horizon is safe" Kasumi said without much enthusiasm.

Jacob frowned "Part of it anyway."

"Mission complete. Have collected much data. No need to stay" Mordin said jovially and immediately started working on something on his omnitool.

"At least someone's excited" the cloaked thief murmured.

Miranda pointed at a colonist that was running towards them "I know somebody who most certainly will not be."

"No! Don't let them get away! Half the colony is in there!" a surviving engineer shouted at the group, looking in horror at the departing ship.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Jack snorted derisively.

"They're gone" the commander sighed, "We did all we could."

"More than most Shepard" Garrus comforted his bestie.

"Shepard? Wait. I know that name"

"Yes, me too" another voice spoke up and as an Alliance soldier and a small group of colonists came into the plaza. They had been alerted by the functioning guns, no doubt.

"Ashley!" Shepard said happily and took off her helmet.

"Hello, Jane" the soldier crossed her arms, assuming the classic position of 'you have some 'splainin to do'.

The red-head's smile dimmed "Hi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up - Stage Two: Anger. 'Cause I was mighty pissed after the Ashley/Kaiden scene in the games. Especially Kaiden, but that might be because I never liked his character. Eh.


	10. Stage Two - Anger

The mood on the shuttle was definitely somber. Everybody was lost in their thoughts or just plain tired. Shepard herself was torn between brooding and observing her team.

Brooding because Ashley. Shepard knew Ash would be shocked and angry, but her spiteful words were really undeserved. The commander supported Ash, they were friends, and she just spit on that. The gall, calling her a traitor! She really wanted to smack her for that, but was glad Garrus stopped her.

On the other hand this whole mission served to unite the team. It wasn't just a mission now, it was  _important_. The individual team members had each their own reasons for being there - being it money, orders, happenstance or loyalty to her. But now they saw what the true danger, the true aim of the mission, and were united in their purpose.

Normally that would be reason for celebration, but… yeah, Ashley. She was livid and she just wanted to scream.

"Shepard? You're glowing" Trev pointed out.

"Yeah, your scars are like Christmas lights. It's pretty badass" Jack nodded.

"How are Christmas lights badass?" Jacob smirked.

He was promptly elbowed by the convict and she then used the same hand to encompass Shepard's scars "Like that."

"I like them" Grunt said approvingly.

Miranda looked searchingly over the commander "They should heal on their own. In time."

"Leave my face be" Shepard huffed.

"Typical. Trying to upstage me, now in scars. Not going to work" Garrus mock-grumbled.

Shepard unexpectedly burst into laughter. And just wouldn't stop.

"It wasn't that funny" the turian said in bewilderment.

"It wasn't funny at all actually" Kasumi piped up.

Mordin squinted his large eyes "Breakdown? No. Head trauma? Perhaps. Hysterics? Plausible."

"Word of advice, prof" Zaeed said in his gravelly voice, "Never mention hysterics in the presence of women. Especially if they're armed."

"Smart man" Kasumi, Shepard, Miranda and Trev nodded sagely. Jack just shrugged.

"Curious, curious"

The shuttle landed softly into the shuttle bay, allowing the ground tem to disembark and stretch. Shepard was fist out "Joker, get us out of here. Pronto."

" _Yes, commander_ " the pilot swiftly responded, clearly picking on Shepard's bad mood.

"The rest of you, store your weapons and armor and take a tour to the infirmary. A mandatory one. No backtalk"

"This includes you commander, surely" Miranda said evenly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Shepard waved her off and stomped towards the elevator. Infirmary actually sounded divine - Chakwas did promise her Serrice Ice Brandy last time she came by. She was tired, she was pissed, and a friend and a drink was just what she needed.

With the head start Shepard created the elevator doors closed before the rest of the team reached it. Garrus widened his mandibles in a turian grin "Rude."

/

Shepard was indulging in the long time soldier tradition of working out her anger on a punching bag. It wasn't working much - half an hour in and she was still supremely pissed. Angrier, actually, than when she began.

Ashley and the Alliance. The Reapers and the Collectors. And worse of all, the Illusive Man. Her so-called ally and sponsor. Cerberus, protector of humanity. What a joke. Funny how their schemes tended to end with human casualties.  _Unfortunate_ , to quote TIM.

"Unfortunate" Shepard spat out and unleashed a particularly vicious roundhouse kick.

"Commander?"

The vanguard heard her XO's voice and sneered "Need more of my friends to be used as bait? Or will just regular people suffice."

Miranda seemed unflappable "The Illusive Man sent three more dossiers. One is for your friend Tali. The other two are on Illium."

"You say it like it means something"

"Illium is where Liara T'Soni is"

Shepard turned away from the punching bag "Ah, is Timmy trying to curry favor after his little backstabbing stunt? Strange how I asked about her before and I got a bunch of 'don't knows'."

Miranda shrugged "You didn't ask  _me_."

"My bad" the red-head said dryly and returned to her work-out. Miranda turned to leave but her superior stopped her "What's the team's status?"

"Good. All injuries have been treated and everybody seems in relatively good spirits" the XO reported, "Although Jack seems to think her injury was caused by not being used to armor and stated her refusal of wearing it ever again. Also, that it 'cramped her style'."

"As long as it is clear that she'll have to wear it again when against the Collectors"

"I'll relay the message"

Shepard sighed "Nah, I'll do it. Less explosive that way."

"As you wish. Anything else?"

"Plenty. A bath in a hot spring comes to mind. Pity I only have an aquarium"

"An oversight, surely" a corner of Miranda's mouth quirked decidedly upwards.

/

"Ser Trevelyan?" Mordin spoke up to get the templar's attention that was firmly on a datapad in her hand. When the woman looked up Mordin was already walking away from the room "Have something for you, come, come."

Trev arched an eyebrow at the peculiar professor but obliged and followed Mordin into his lab.

"Had inkling, EDI confirms. Needed new project. Result here"

"What is it?"

"Should moderate withdrawal symptoms. Maybe stop completely. Have dose ready, used Doctor Chakwas' data" Mordin said brightly and picked up a thin tube-like device.

Trev was speechless - embarrassed, confused, grateful but also quite a bit angry.

The salarian seemed to notice "Was concerned. Your blood work fascinating. Seemed a fair exchange."

"What exactly will this do?" the templar sighed, it had been foolish to hope the doctor wouldn't find traces of lyrium in her. After all she had been using it for years.

"Fairly common remedy, Red Sand withdrawal. Couldn't identify unknown element but this will work. Will study more"

"That study shouldn't fall in Cerberus hands"

"Already disposed of monitoring devices. This for my own curiosity"

Trev shrugged, it's not like she could forbid him from it, no matter how she really wanted to do just that. Instead she rubbed her neck to ease the discomfort of the injection and said "Thank you."

"Daily doses for a month. Come tomorrow" Mordin said almost as an afterthought, already absorbed in something else on his research terminal.

The Free Marcher grimaced and left the lab, returning to Port Observation she had claimed as her own. Well, when she wasn't honing her shooting skills. "EDI?" Trev called, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

" _Yes, Ser Trevelyan_ "

"Just what did you tell Mordin?"

_"… I merely confirmed his suspicions."_

Trev sighed "Well, I just hope it works. I haven't had a restful sleep since stepping onto this ship."

" _Professor Solus is renowned for his results_ "

"Better him then Cerberus I guess"

" _Trev?"_

"Yes?"

_"Will you continue playing chess with me even after you'll be able to sleep?"_

The templar chuckled. Cold and merciless AIs her ass, EDI was a sweetheart. "Sure, EDI. Might consider letting me win sometimes though."

_"Then how you would get better at it?"_

"Did EDI just rib you?" Shepard chuckled in mild disbelief when she entered the room just in time to hear it.

"With her win streak she's allowed to. But I'll make a comeback, believe it" Trev smirked.

"Somehow I doubt that" the commander laughed, "EDI, what's the score?"

"Shssssh! That's private" Trev said theatrically.

" _Winner-loser privilege_ " the AI chimed in.

"Well, that's just rude" Trevelyan pouted.

Shepard grinned "Here I was making rounds to make friends and I find you already have one. I'm sad."

"Ah, always room for more" the templar smiled.

"Good, good. You know, after Horizon everybody is suddenly more approachable. Like we're a regular squad!" the red-head smirked, "Even got personal details."

Trev chuckled knowingly "So you're here trolling for gossip."

"You've found me out"

"So, with what should I regale you today?" the blonde finally got to sitting down, "Hero of Ferelden? Hero of Orlais?"

Shepard sat down comfortably as well "I was thinking in continuing the personal details vein today. Like why, rather than how, you became a templar."

Trev shrugged "That's no long tale. My family is very religious so it's tradition after getting an heir, the spare and a daughter to marry into an alliance, have the rest go to the Chantry. I was brought up to join the cloister but that wasn't my style. Templar training was the only real option left."

"Oh. So you didn't join willingly?" the red-headed commander frowned.

"I did" Trev shrugged once more.

"So you're the fourth child?" Shepard hummed, "Can't really imagine, being an only child and all."

"Indeed, fourth child and second daughter. I have another brother, he did join the Chantry as a cleric. It placated Mother"

"Not a happy relationship?"

"Always was daddy's girl. Never liked sowing and all that Lady stuff so I'd sneak out of lessons and if Father had time he'd teach me the sword. Or my brother did"

Shepard chuckled "I could see that. Which brother?"

"The 'spare', Jerran. Maxwell was too stuck up for anything. He always said a future Bann had better things to do. And Adain always had his nose stuck in a book"

"You miss them?" the commander asked sadly.

"Only Jerran remains. Maxwell and Adain died at the Conclave" Trev said angrily, "I miss him dearly. We haven't spoken for some time even before the war, I had my duties and he was freshly married. I regret not staying in touch more."

"I'm sorry"

Trevelyan shrugged, there wasn't much that could be said to that.

Shepard's omnitool pinged. She exhaled in relief, glad of the awkwardness got interrupted "Oh, a distress signal!"


	11. Stage Two - Anger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: There is some Chant of Light in this chapter, feel free to skip it. Also, the majority of this one will be the DLC Overlord.

"Cerberus lost control of an experiment" Garrus hummed, "In other news, water is wet."

Miranda shot him a supremely annoyed glare "And just how many Cerberus…"

"Enough!" Shepard interrupted sternly, "We're really close to this planet, I'd guess that is the only reason we've been contacted."

"Or maybe the Illusive Man knows we're already disillusioned so no big loss?" Trev pitched in.

"I said enough. Suit up and prepare for anything. TIM was even more vague than usual and we can't afford any Cerberus experiments running around" the commander waved her hand in the air in an all-compassing manner.

"Where are we going?" Kasumi asked.

Shepard brought up a holographic image of a green planet "Aite in the Typhon System, home of project Overlord."

"Overlord?" Jack scoffed.

"Miranda, do you know anything about it?" Jacob turned to his colleague.

The brunette shook her head "No, Overlord has its own Cell. They report directly to the Illusive Man."

"So we're going blind" Zaeed huffed but seemed unconcerned.

"How long till we arrive?" Garrus asked.

" _Aite is 2 hours away_ " EDI's disembodied voice informed.

"That is close" Kasumi nodded, "And I've just started a new book."

"Shelve it" Shepard sighed, "You'll need cheering up after this mission, I guarantee it."

"Commander…" Miranda protested again.

"Rachni experiments, Thresher Maw experiments, Thorian experiments, do I need to continue?" the vanguard said pointedly.

"Fascinating creatures with great potential"

"Yeah, which you realized by feeding them an Alliance admiral in one instance and squads of marines in another"

Jack gleefully joined in "Are playing Bad Guy Cerberus trivia? Because I have plenty."

"Dissonance in ranks is not advised" Mordin braved, "Especially prior to a mission."

"You're right. All of you dismissed" Shepard ordered.

"We were just getting to the good part" Jack protested.

"All of you out"

Once the door closed behind them and the ground team stated to disperse Trev hummed "Just a few minutes ago she was in good spirits."

"Females" Grunt scoffed and left.

"Well, Cerberus and experiment put together are always mood dampeners" Garrus shrugged.

* * *

**Aite**

"Nice place" Garrus commented after the ground team filed out on the landing pad.

"Could use some lightening up" Kasumi hummed.

"Give me a minute, I'll find some gasoline" Jack offered.

Miranda rolled her eyes, brought up her Tempest submachine gun and stated walking toward the only one door to the complex. Shepard, who still wasn't in good mood, made a harsh motion to her team and followed her XO.

"Do we know anything about this Doctor Archer?" Jacob asked.

"Never heard of him before today" Zaeed drawled out, "But this VI breakout is utter bullshit."

"I'm inclined to agree" Tali nodded.

"We haven't even stepped inside yet" Trev said admonishingly.

Shepard's helmeted face turned to them "Pipe down!"

They all entered the deathly silent facility. Beside the silence there was nothing out of the ordinary, including the cheerful voice over the intercom about Hermes Station being a secure facility and how weapons needed to be checked in.

"Secure facility my ass" Zaeed commented at the first body on the ground. Grunt snorted a chuckle.

The group finally arrived at a station with a big screen, which immediately lit up to show a panicked looking man in Cerberus scientist uniform. When the man saw the N7 on Shepard's plate he sighed in relief "Thank god! The VI has broken loose and took control of all the geth!"

"Geth?" Tali shouted even before her commander could reply.

"Yes" Dr Archer went back from relieved to worried, "And now he is trying to upload himself off the planet. You must stop him! The controls for the reflector dish are with you on Hermes, you must hurry!"

After that, the screen shut off. Shepard growled "Let's go. Eyes peeled for geth."

"Brings back memories" Garrus chuckled.

Zaeed spoke up again "Told you the VI thing was bullshit."

Tali eyed Jacob and Miranda with suspicion "Was Cerberus trying to make a VI to control the geth?"

Miranda shrugged "Sounds plausible."

"Idiots" the quarian muttered.

The squad made it round the corner to find more blood and dead Cerberus personnel but no enemies. Synthetic or otherwise. Still, they all shut up and started to behave like the professionals they were.

Finally they arrived to what appeared to be the control room. They quickly scanned for enemies but just as on the way here, there were none.

"Lawson, do the thing" Shepard jerked her shotgun in the controls' direction.

Miranda nodded and holstered her weapon. Tali moved behind the brunette, not trusting the Cerberus woman in the least. Before either reached the console, a green pixilated face flashed over the big screen accompanied by a horrible synthetic noise.

"The fuck?" Zaeed proved to be unusually talkative today.

"Creepy" Jack nodded.

"Unsettling" Trev hummed in agreement.

"Miranda?" the commander asked.

The XO took a calming breath as she fiddled with the controls "I'm retracting the dish and no, I do not know what is going on if that's what you're asking. Again."

Shepard shrugged unrepentantly "Wasn't."

"Okay. Done" Miranda nodded and took a step from the console.

Indeed the enormous satellite dish began retracting into the ground but not before the creepy green pixilated eyes made an appearance again. Immediately after Dr Archer contacted them with another task, his voice even more panicked than before.

As they proceeded out of the room Kasumi frowned "Anyone else is getting the heebie-jeebies off this guy?"

Trev turned to the thief with an astonished expression "What in the Fade is that?"

Before anyone could answer her the green eyes made a reappearance with the now almost iconic synthetic screech.

"Don't know what's that all about, but it's bad" Garrus semi-joked.

"No shit?" Jack scoffed and watched as the eyes followed them on the monitors as they moved. "Ooh, mess hall! I could eat."

"Me too" Grunt agreed.

Shepard sighed "Seriously?"

The Trevelyan shook her head - this team was really something else. She was used to near-stoic, hard-ass, utterly professional and devoted templars. Especially since transferring to Orlais. This setup here was fun, there was no denying that, but different. Very, very different. She had mentioned this to Shepard before, but the woman just shrugged and said it was badass privilege. And that this wasn't the Alliance anymore.

"Geth!"

Everybody hit the dirt and seamlessly transitioned into business mode. With one last thought of  _'that's more like it'_  Trev joined the firing squad, even trying her hand at the Overload application, finding it to her liking although her aim could use more work in that regard.

The fight itself was pretty tricky due to the layout of the mess hall and the multitude of their enemies. Although Garrus seemed to disagree "Hey guys, is it me or the usual geth, aka without those green eyes, were better."

"Still satisfying" Tali piped up.

"We did have more variety, that's for sure. But I do not miss those Primes" Shepard spoke over her loud shotgun shooting.

"I am sure that everything was better before Cerberus, grass was greener and so on" Miranda spoke up, "But you have a Prime right there. You're welcome to it."

The squad all looked down the stairs where a huge robot was just warming up.

"Shiiiiiit"

Miranda smirked under her visor and shot an overload onto the red-colored geth while the rest concentrate fire.

After the shooting died down and they made damn sure there were no more enemies, Trev asked "What are the different types of geth anyway? Garrus glossed that over during his retelling of your hunt for Saren."

"Yeah, could come in handy" Jack surprised them by nodding.

"Well, those big motherfuckers you just saw are Primes" Shepard took the lead in the briefing, "The cloaked one are Hunters, then we have the Pyros - these have flamethrowers."

"The Hoppers are annoying to kill" Garrus chimed in, "They're really fast and jump all over the place."

"And the Colossus is what was in front of the room you found me in at Haestrom" Tali continued.

"The troopers are what's left. Various weapons, rocket launchers included" Shepard concluded.

"I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to observe them all today. Just a feeling" the turian sniper smirked.

"Alright, we can go" Kasumi jogged up to reach the rest of the team, this time uncloaked.

"Where were you?"

"Breaking into the register"

Jacob gaped "Really?"

The thief shrugged "What? Nobody here needs the money. And Shep broke into that safe too, so I was just following the commander's example."

Shepard chuckled "Feel free to take anything from here. Just wait until the fight is over."

"Of course! I'm offended, I'm a professional"

"Is this by-play over?" Miranda asked impatiently.

"We do have a VI trying to upload itself from the planet" Trev nodded sagely. The rest of the team all turned to her with varying degrees of incredulity. The noble shrugged "I might not know what that is exactly but I can memorize. Plus it sounded urgent."

"Right" Shepard said slowly but then nodded, "You're right, let's go!"

The ground team regrouped and proceeded through the door that led to the tram line that would take them up in the mountains where the satellite itself was situated. The ride was not long and with the beautiful weather the planet was having, quite enjoyable. Or, at east there were no geth shooting at them.

That changed the minute they stepped off the tram.

Finally they made their way to the base of the enormous satellite dish. As soon as they approached the doors to the room under it, the open sign flashed into red.

"Damn" Shepard sighed, "Kasumi?"

"Opening doors, my specialty" the petite thief smiled and brought her omnitool up.

As Kasumi worked Garrus turned his gaze upwards "You know, with our luck we'll end up blowing this thing to pieces."

Jacob nodded "Considering your mission history I don't doubt that."

"It would be prudent to have an avenue of escape" Trev frowned and looked over the railing, "It's a long fall."

"A really long fall" Grunt agreed uneasily.

Jack snickered "Is the perfect krogan afraid of heights?"

Grunt let out a quiet growl but was interrupted by a jubilant Kasumi "Aaand we're in!"

"I expected it to be faster miss expert" Garrus smirked.

"Hey" the thief puffed up, "I had to actively counteract the VI that really wanted this door closed. I'm a virtuoso!"

Trevelyan gripped the thief's black armor and used it to throw the virtuoso to the side and out of the way of incoming fire.

"Ooops, thanks Trev"

"Do pay attention please" the templar reprimanded mildly.

"Sure, sure. Hey, I have plenty of those hunters on radar" Kasumi informed them.

"Damn good radar" Garrus praised.

Everybody's omnitool lit up at once as they received a file. Shepard frowned "Labeled 'radar'. Is it from you Kasumi?"

"Not mine"

"Mine. From STG days" Mordin spoke up for the first time during the mission, "With minor adjustments."

"Ok" the commander nodded, "Let's use it. We're pinned but nothing a good biotic charge won't solve. Grunt? With me!"

True to Shepard's words, the biotic cavalcade did help things and the squad moved to a better position, shooting all the while.

"You remember how I was complaining about these geth lacking in variety? Well, no more" Garrus said cheerily as his sniper rounds shattered a hopper's head.

"You jinxed it" Tali huffed.

"Prime, Prime, Prime!" Jacob nearly screeched before Zaeed rolled his eyes and threw a handful of grenades that way.

Miranda looked at her Cerberus colleague and shook her head. Jacob cleared his throat "He took me by surprise."

"Weak" Grunt scoffed.

"Hey, I…"

"Sooth your manly pride some time later, Jacob!" Shepard shouted, "Eyes on the killer robots please!"

"Not robots, technically…"

"Not now Mordin!"

"Rocket troopers on the second floor" Miranda informed calmly and shot an overload between them. Everybody followed suit.

Then… silence reigned.

"Is that all of them?" Jacob ventured.

Tali glanced at her omnitool "Seems so."

"At least no 'Prime! Prime! Prime!'" Jack mocked.

"He came out of nowhere!"

Doctor Archer's voice halted the argument before it could really begin with his instructions on what to do to prevent the VI getting off-world. His assessment of the situation surprised no one.

Shepard rubbed her brow as Garrus threw his arms in the air in a victory gesture "I told you we're going to blow it up!"

"Yes, good turian" Tali said patronizingly.

Miranda sighed "If we overload the capacitors the problem should take care of itself. We'll have to be creative with the exit though."

"Very nice wording" Trev chuckled. She was suddenly reminded of Orlais and their Game. Even the Chantry sisters, sometimes especially the sisters, participated and used the same language. She and some of her less stuck-up colleagues always used to snicker at Seeker Cassandra's disgusted face at the nobles antics.  _Ahh, good times. Less killer metal men to be sure._

"Let's just go and make thing explode" Shepard sighed.

"Heh, heh, heh" Grunt smiled.

Zaeed smirked as well "We're good at that."

"Indubitably"

And they were. After another shootout and blowing up the support beams, the satellite and its base began to crumble. The team broke into a dead sprint to get to the tram station. And, as predicted, they did have to jump. Very movie like.

Shepard quickly counted her team members and after finding them all alive and well, she collapsed back onto the cold metal grid that made the floor of the tram station.

"Prefer lab work. But this nice change of routine" Mordin said chipperly, getting annoyed glares in reply.

Trevelyan sat up and rolled her shoulders "Change of routine most definitely. Templars don't usually jump. Or run, really."

"No wonder, your old armor is ridiculously heavy" Jacob chuckled.

"Looks majestic though" Kasumi hummed.

"Thank you" Trev smiled, proud of her uniform.

"The helmet is shit though" Shepard commented.

"The pseudo wings on the side were pretty neat" Jack shrugged.

Miranda cocked her head to the side "Did they mark you as an officer? They are purely decorative after all."

"Indeed"

…

"Oookay" Shepard declared and stood up, "Riveting as it was, break over. Let's meet this doctor Archer in person. I have questions."

"I have a few myself" Tali muttered and caressed her shotgun.

As the squad slowly got up and into the tram, Jacob hung behind with Miranda. He caught her gaze and pointed to himself and nodded. Miranda rubbed her brow over her visor and shrugged "Answers sound good."

"Awesome"

/

As Shepard was meeting with the balding scientist, the rest of the squad did as their commander ordered - looting bodies of the late Cerberus personnel and dragging them out to prepare them for pick up.

"This isn't fun" Kasumi pouted.

"Too easy stealing from the dead?" Garrus grinned.

"Technically every time I hit a museum, I'm stealing from the dead. But yeah"

"It's not like they have anything valuable anyway" Jack shrugged, "Although seeing dead Cerberus is a nice consolation prize."

Trev frowned at the callousness but she heard enough of the convict's history with Cerberus to know not to criticize. Out loud anyway. Instead she took it upon herself to say a prayer for the dead.

"Yo, Trev?" Jacob shouted.

"Hm?"

"Could you maybe do that out loud?" the biotic said. Then he blushed and cleared his throat "Or is it too weird?"

"Hm?" the templar said again but this time she opened her eyes and looked at the man in confusion.

"I'd be honored to hear it as well" Miranda said as she dropped another body to the growing line and coved it with the appropriate bag/blanket. It was disturbing that the Cerberus facility had them ready. And bought in bulk.

Seeing she held near everybody's attention, Trevelyan shrugged. It was human nature to be curious. She started from the top:

_O Maker, hear my cry:_ __  
_Guide me through the blackest nights._   
_Steel my heart against the temptations of the wicked._   
_Make me to rest in the warmest places._

_O Creator, see me kneel:_   
_For I walk only where You would bid me._   
_Stand only in places You have blessed._   
_Sing only the words You place in my throat._

_My Maker, know my heart:_   
_Take from me a life of sorrow._   
_Lift me from a world of pain._   
_Judge me worthy of Your endless pride._

_My Creator, judge me whole:_   
_Find me well within Your grace._   
_Touch me with fire that I be cleansed._   
_Tell me I have sung to Your approval._

_O Maker, hear my cry:_   
_Seat me by Your side in death._   
_Make me one within Your glory._   
_And let the world once more see Your favor._

_For You are the fire at the heart of the world,_   
_And comfort is only Yours to give._

Trev opened her eyes, the prayer over. Respectful silence ensued, even devoid of any of Jacks usual vulgar comments.

"That was beautiful. Not my style, but beautiful" Shepard said, her meeting with Archer over.

"You have news?" Miranda tore her eyes from the bodies of her fellow scientists.

"Indeed" the red-head sighed, "Apparently this VI is in fact David Archer, who volunteered to merge his consciousness with a computer."

"Volunteered?" Garrus said dryly, the only thing missing was Sparatus' patented air quotes.

"My sentiments exactly"

"Wait. David  _Archer_? Any relation?" Trev asked.

"Brother" Shepard nodded, "But let's reserve judgment for now. Right now we must lift the lockdown to even set foot into the main base. This facility and two more have to give the ok. So, since we have our own hammerhead, and this base has an early prototype too, I was thinking we could split up."

"Sensible" Miranda nodded, "I can pilot the hammerhead and I know how to manually override security."

The vanguard nodded "Great. We have bases 'Vulcan', which is a geothermal power plant and 'Prometheus' that is a crashed geth ship. Which one you like?"

A corner of Miranda's mouth lifted is a light pleased smiled "I'll take Vulcan."

"Take Garrus, Trev, Mordin and Kasumi" Shepard said after a quick math, "And try not to blow up the planet. Without proper warning at least."

"Will do" another barely-there smile.

"We'll meet up at Atlas station after lifting the lockdown. Archer said his hammerhead has a map and I got my own so you take the one downstairs. Stay in contact" the spectre said with finality and made a shoo-ing gesture.

Garrus snickered "Uh-oh, bad mood again."

Kasumi grabbed the turian and dragged him away out of the possible blast zone "Miranda, how is your driving?"

"Better than Shepard's, that's for sure" the brunette smirked.

"Thank the spirits!" Garrus exclaimed loudly.

"Hey, I have passed the N7 driving course with no problems!" Shepard shouted after them.

"More like no marks!"

"At least I know how to duck!"

"My scar is dashing and you know it!"

Trev sighed "You're the last to board Garrus. Stop squabbling or we leave you behind."

"I look dashing, right?" the turian said as he rushed to the vehicle.

"I personally don't mind scars" Trevelyan chuckled.

"HA!"

With the entire team in the hammerhead Miranda floored the gas pedal.

/

The team reveled being in the nice, cool hangar and out of the now parked hammerhead.

"Free and clear" Miranda said smugly.

Trev, Kasumi, Garrus and even Mordin were much less enthusiastic. More like horrified. Or traumatized.

"The lava river…" Garrus said, still shell-shocked.

"Twice!" Kasumi nodded empathically.

"Excellent driving. I thought death almost certain. Glad to be wrong" Mordin chipped in.

Trev had a vacant stare and only repeated "Hop and hop and hop over the lava."

Miranda shrugged "I personally thought it was rather fun."

"It wasn't" Kasumi said matter-of-factly.

"But you definitely get the badass sticker for this ride" Garrus nodded.

"Hop and hop and hop"

The petite thief bumped Trevelyan "You alright Trev?"

This seemed to snap the templar out of her reverie. She shook her head, as if trying to shake the memory of the ride from her head. "Give me dragons any day."

"Fire-breathing lizards, really?" Miranda arched an eyebrow, still impossibly smug about their reactions.

"Yes" Trev nodded sharply, "At least there I was not trapped in a steel cage under someone else's control. And that someone else thinking the best way to get here was using debris in the  **lava river**  as a  **spring board**!"

"Twice" Kasumi reiterated.

"It worked" the Cerberus XO smirked.

Mordin nodded "Hope it works again on way back."

Garrus, Trev and Kasumi looked at each other, fear in their eyes. It didn't even occur to them they would have to do it one more time. They woodenly followed their team leader inside Vulcan, foregoing any talk. After the ride here, getting shot at was a comfortable routine. Almost pleasant.

Plus they were dealing exclusively with mechs as opposite to geth. So a walk in the park. Expect the YMIR, but they had practice with that.

Once Kasumi hacked yet another difficult door, the team reached the security terminal. Miranda approached it while the rest shot up the lone mech inside and then secured the perimeter.

"Done," the white-clad brunette hummed and brought her right hand to her ear "Shepard? Commander? No reception."

"We are in a volcano" Kasumi shrugged.

"Try the land line" Garrus suggested, "Archer is."

"Let's just call after the horror. If we're still alive after, that is" the templar said in a defeated tone.

Miranda smirked "Why so pessimistic, Ser Trevelyan."

"There must be another way out of here. Don't tell me Archer and his frail scientist posse does this on a regular basis" Trev grumbled.

"That's a good point. A really good point" Kasumi turned to Miranda for answers.

"Do not underestimate scientists" Morin made a point of his own.

Trev sighed and "Let's just get this over with."

Kasumi patted the heavy armored shoulder "There, there."

The team filed back into the hammerhead which had managed to cool off in the meantime. Miranda remotely opened the hangar door and let in the reddish glow of the magma. Trev took an audible breath, closed her eyes and started praying.

A moment later, after several jumps, Garrus just had to share his bad humor "A whole new meaning of 'going with the flow', huh?"

…

"Come on, that was funny" the turian insisted.

Kasumi chuckled "Just be glad Trev is trying to be mentally somewhere else."

Another round of hopping later Miranda announced "We're clear. Only luscious greenery from here on."

"Thank the Maker!"

"Yeah, now we're back to mowing geth and shooting them with the cannon" Garrus said chipperly.

"Much better" the templar smiled elatedly.

"That's fun" Kasumi nodded.

"Then buckle up, they'll be plenty of them on the way to Atlas" Miranda hummed.

Mordin nodded "First here."

"We beat Shepard here?" Garrus perked up and high-fived Kasumi, "Awesome!"

Participating in the competitive spirit, Miranda floored the gas pedal again and studied the map more thoroughly, looking for corners to cut. And it paid out when they slid into the parking space in front of Atlas.

Garrus and Kasumi cheered.

They exited the vehicle and cleared the premises even if the hammerhead's radar showed nobody was around. Then they camped up on the hammerhead as their perch and opened their rations packets.

"Nice place for a picnic" Kasumi hummed.

"It is" Mordin swung his legs and smiled widely, "Interesting flora too."

Trev nodded "But we don't get to enjoy it for long, I see our own hammerhead."

"Aw" Garrus complained, "And I was just opening dextro chocolate."

The newer vehicle parked in front of them and the second team hopped out. Kasumi waved "Hey, Shep! How was Prometheus?"

"Creepy haunted ship and we had to play hide-and-seek with a geth cannon" the commander shrugged.

"Survivors?" Miranda asked.

"None" Jacob shook his head sadly.

"Come on, I'm ready for this to be over" Shepard grabbed her shotgun from her back, "Let's go."

They progressed slowly but steadily, mainly due to the spontaneously looking and unlocking doors on their path. Oh, and the geth, of course, while the green blinking cameras followed them on their way.

Nothing they couldn't handle. Until… Shepard just had to fiddle with the green lit console. Everybody knew that something has happened as soon as their commander shot straight up from the console and with a vacant stare slid to the suddenly opened door that closed right behind her.

After a beat of confused silence, the squad immediately went to the doors and tried to get them open.

"Shit. Not good, not good" Jacob muttered.

"We'll have to go around" Tali announced after a kick to the console.

With Miranda in the lead, the only one to have the base's schematic, they decided their best bet would be the lowest floor - where the core of the 'project' was housed.

"This VI reeeally doesn't want us around" Garrus commented after they encountered another locked door.

"Why take Shepard then" Trev mused.

"Maybe he's fan" Kasumi shrugged.

"Finally! Stairs!"

"Let's go, we really need to catch up to Shep"

"She's N7, she can handle it"

"Hey guys, isn't that the Archer dude?"

"Where?"

"I think I spotted him a floor under us"

"How did he do that! We are practically running!"

"Maybe Garrus is having hallucinations, maybe from all that dextro chocolate he unfairly ate"

"You're just jealous I packed one and you couldn't steal it for me"

"Shush, I think we're here" Tali said harshly as the squad arrived at a large door that looked blast resistant. Unlike most of the obstacles in their way this was flashing the open sign.

They all heard Archer's "Commander, don't do anything rash!"

The Normandy ground team sped up and burst in the great chamber. They stopped dead in their track as their eyes were drawn to the atrocity before them.

A man was hanging inside a big contraption. His eyes were held permanently open by metal claws. Two thick tuned rammed deep into his mouth. Practically crucified, rods in his forearms.

Trev heard Archer explain, but it didn't really register - her gaze was stuck on the poor man hanging in the device. His eyes screamed for help since his lips could not.

" _Please. Please, make it stop_ "

"No, leave him! He's too valuable!" Archer yelled and drew his gun which served to snap everybody from their shock.

All of the team pointed their guns at the man but Trev was incensed beyond belief. Not caring about the firearm pointed at her commander she activated her omni-blade, just as Kasumi taught her, and in swift movement stepped next to Archer and severed the offending limb.

The scientist screamed. Trev towered over him "Valuable?  _Valuable_? You… Your own kin!"

"I was desperate!" Archer shouted, forgetting his new stump for a moment, "The Illusive Man doesn't broker failure. I had to. I had to! It was too important."

" _Please. Please, make it stop_ " the younger sibling pled again through the intercom.

Trev looked at Shepard in pure outrage, almost daring her to side with the monster. Shepard's eyes narrowed "We're shutting this down. David comes with us. This  _experiment_  is over."

"Good" the templar sneered and with one swift motion decapitated Dr. Gavin Archer, "May the Maker have mercy on your soul."

The room was silent except for David who began reciting square roots. Then Jack shrugged "Good riddance."

Shepard didn't seem thrilled about the execution but brought a hand to her ear "Normandy, get Chakwas here, we have a patient for her."

"Aye-aye" Joker replied.

"Mordin, Miranda, you look this contraption over and try to figure out how to get him down but wait for Chakwas before doing anything.

"Yes, commander" the two nodded and fired up their omnitools.

Shepard moved her gaze to the templar who was still standing over the corpse "Trev, come with me. We need to talk."

"Yes, commander" the Marcher nodded defiantly.

"Hey now Shep, you weren't meaning to let him continue this" Kasumi pointed at David, "And I doubt he'd ever reach Alliance custody."

Shepard nodded minutely in acknowledgement but nonetheless took the templar aside. Once out of earshot she sighed but before she could speak Trev beat her to it "He needed to be put down, otherwise he'd just start it up again somewhere else."

"True but it was my decision to make" the commander stressed the 'my'.

"Yes, commander. I apologize"

"Just something for next time. And I'm almost sure there will be a next time, no matter how much I hope for the contrary"

"Yes, commander"

" _Shepard_ " Chakwas' voice interrupted, " _I'm on the landing pad_."

"Good, I'll send someone to get you"

/

Trevelyan strode purposely towards the XO chambers. She just couldn't shake her anger, she needed answers and there was only one crewman, or woman in this case, that could provide them.

As the doors opened Miranda looked up from her terminal "Can I help you, Ser Trevelyan?"

The doors closed and the templar started to pace, staying silent all the while. Miranda arched an eyebrow but merely crossed her arms and waited patiently.

Finally Trev turned abruptly but no words came out of her mouth.

Miranda sighed and decided to take the lead "I assume you're here for the same reasons Jacob and Shepard were - Overlord. To answer your questions: no, I didn't know about it, yes, I condemn it."

Trev chuckled derisively "At least you didn't use words like 'unfortunate' and 'regrettable' your Illusive Man is so fond of. If he was bothered to pick up the communication, that is."

"The Illusive Man is a busy man" Miranda said, much less defensive now, about her boss' reluctance to pick up the phone. Shepard had been most vocal in her displeasure. It might've been a small reason why the Cerberus operative chose to stay in her chambers. Not that she was in the habit of wandering on the ship.

"Yeah, more wonderful experiments to oversee" Trev responded bitterly.

Miranda frowned deeply "Cerberus is a large organization, for our many successes there have been some failures. It was inevitable."

"Is that what you'd call kidnapping me from home?"

"You're angry, and there is nothing I can say that you wouldn't see as provocation" the brunette said sternly.

Trev sneered and visibly struggled to calm down. Then she seemed to deflate and sat down on the chair provided for visitors "You're right."

Miranda seemed surprised the templar didn't slug her or storm out. She relaxed "For what's it worth, I'm sorry about how you came to be here."

"Me too" Trev tried to joke but fell flat. Even to her. "Just tell me, what if Dr. Archer had been successful. Would Cerberus leave David to hang there until he died? Would you close your eyes to his suffering and pleas, pretend he volunteered? For the greater good? Or for humanity. That does seem to be the motto of your organization."

The operative's eyes narrowed "Didn't you say once that some mages were good, some bad and they shouldn't be painted with the same brush? Don't do the same for Cerberus. That project died with Gavin Archer."

"Very well" Trev stood from her chair, hearing the note of finality in the XO's statement.

Once the templar left with a minute bow of goodbye as was her custom, Miranda powered back up her terminal. She had sent the report on their latest mission, reporting the deterioration of any bond Cerberus could've boasted with the ground team and the Commander in particular. Hell, even Jacob eyed her with suspicion now.

To be perfectly honest she didn't blame them. As she walked into the Core Room, as Archer had dubbed his brother's dwelling, her own twin's face flashed through her mind.

_Oriana._

Time to check on her again anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I loathed the hammerhead, especially during this mission. I died so many times, either the lava or the cannon got me. I hope you liked this version better :-)
> 
> AN2: The first time I arrived to David I was struck speechless, it was very well done and quite heart-breaking. But I hated there wasn't the kill Archer option. So I made one.


	12. Stage Two - Anger

The somber aura that surrounded the crew for the past week, ever since departing from Aite and dropping David at Grissom Academy, has started to dispel after Shepard's announcement of a much anticipated shore leave at Illium.

During this time Tali'Zorah vas Neema finally got a tour of the ship after her rushed recruitment mission and was officially introduced to the crew. Shepard was ecstatic at having another of her old team aboard, especially after the Ashley debacle.

"And we even have a bar!" the red-headed commander said with a flourish as she made the obligatory tour of the ship.

"Like that is going to help if the AI aboard goes rogue" Tali snarked.

" _I assure you Tali'Zorah, I have no intention of doing so_ " EDI spoke up, " _As stated before."_

"EDI's alright" Shepard agreed, "See, she's even getting the hang of sarcasm."

"That's actually the opposite of reassuring. But we'll see" the quarian uncrossed her arms and approached the bar that was currently occupied by Trevelyan and Joker in deep discussion.

"Werewolves?" the pilot asked abruptly.

"Got them. A curse and not many" Trev shrugged. Joker's eyes widened in awe and he took a shot.

"Dragons?"

"Yep"

"Wait! Already knew that, so no shot" Joker shook his head, "Dragons. Can't believe it."

The templar shrugged "We thought they were near extinct too but they surprised us."

"Do they really breathe fire?"

"Use frost and lightening too"

"How does that work exactly?" Joker breathed out in disbelief.

Trevelyan tapped her bottom lip in thought "I'm not really sure. Same as the fire I'd imagine. They are magical creatures after all."

"What about unicorns? Do you have those?" the pilot began the game anew.

"Nope" Trev took a shot.

"Elves?"

The Ostwick noble nearly knocked over her glass, she was laughing so hard "Yes! Fourth largest population I'd say. Or maybe tied with the dwarfs. Don't know if anyone has ever done a comprehensive census."

"Are they beautiful?"

"Some yes"

"You're blushing!" Joker pointed at his companion and erupted into giggles, "Oh, Shepard! And Tali! I was just introducing Trev to local alcohol. Do you want a glass? We can hear tales of beautiful elven women together!"

Shepard chuckled "And just how long have you been introducing Trev to local alcohol?"

"I'm off duty!" the pilot quickly defended, "Hello, Tali."

"Hello, Joker" the quarian chuckled, "Good to see you again."

"And this is Ser Trevelyan, you know her as Trev" Shepard introduced.

"Well met"

"Hi"

"We're all pals. Back to elven women now" Joker grinned, "Feel free to include graphing details."

Tali chuckled "You certainly haven't change a bit."

"That he hasn't" Shepard agreed, "So, this concludes our tour. I'm sure that Joker will gladly present you our dextro selections or you can go terrorize the engineers. I have to go, I promised Miranda I'd go by her office."

Tali huffed, no doubt less than happy at the very presence of the  _bosh'tet cheerleader_  on the ship, but made a motion to the pilot to fetch her something from his side of the bar.

As the commander left, Trevelyan excused herself and followed "Shepard!"

"Yes?"

"Are you well? You seem… down. Which is peculiar as you have another of your dear friends aboard. Garrus had been practically beaming since she agreed to stay"

Shepard sighed and got into the elevator, making a gesture for the templar to follow "I'm glad about Tali. It is our next destination that has me out of sorts."

"Why?"

The commander stayed silent until the elevator's doors opened to reveal the short corridor to the Captain's quarters.

"Weren't you going to see miss Lawson?"

"I'll go there shortly" Shepard sighed once more, "Come in for the minute."

"Yes, commander"

"Liara"

"I beg your pardon?" Ser Trevelyan arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"She's on Illium. Garrus boasted how you appreciated his narrative so I trust you know who she is"

"I do" Trev said with gentle neutrality - indeed she knew who the asari was. Garrus spoke of the unlikely romance quite often, but never once in front of the red-head.

Shepard seemed bitter "You saw how Ashley reacted on Horizon, am I kidding myself?"

"I cannot say" the templar replied, "I don't know her. But… I imagine she'll be shocked at your presence. But her first reaction will not necessarily be the last. What did Garrus say?"

"I didn't speak to him"

"Why?"

"We don't speak about things like that. He's… too much of a guy. And he'd use humor to make me feel better. I'm not in the mood"

"I can see that. But I can promise that if things go badly on the Liara front, I'll take you to the nearest tavern" the noble smiled almost imperceptibly.

"More sampling of local alcohol?" Shepard chuckled.

"Indeed"

Trevelyan turned to leave but the commander stopped her "I'm scared. I can't tell that to the rest - Miranda would squeal to TIM, Garrus would be lost, Jacob is too starry-eyed about my 'legend' while the rest… no. Simply no. Tali might understand but I don't need more judging, she's adjusting too."

"That's normal," the blonde returned and sat down, "To be scared."

"For me it feels that only a month, and some change, has passed, but it had been two years. TWO years. And I was dead, it's not like we had a little spat or something. And…"

As Shepard continued Trev nodded and hummed in the appropriate places - it was clear the commander needed this off her chest and wasn't really looking for a reply. She did much the same to EDI about her own predicament, rage and despair. And her all-consuming homesickness.

Well, with this 'conversation' it seemed she had been upgraded from teammate to friend, so that was a step in the right direction.

"Thanks Trev, for listening"

"Of course. And Shepard? Ashley will come around eventually, so will Liara. Have faith"

Shepard chuckled "Heh, of course. No quote for me today from, what was it? Chant of Light?"

"Indeed. And no quote. But if you'd be interested in converting…" Trev trailed out teasingly.

"Not today" the commander smirked.

"I have been reconstructing the Chant from memory, EDI will be thrilled to download a copy to your terminal" the templar continued on with her joke.

"Grand" Shepard said dryly but her eyes twinkled with mirth.

* * *

**Cockpit**

"You know, somehow I expected it to be blue" Joker hummed as they approached the planet Illium.

"And somehow I'm not surprised" Shepard chuckled.

" _Records show this planet is called Blue for it's predominantly asari population, not its appearance. The term Blue Mall was first used…"_

" _Thank you_  EDI" the pilot interrupted grumpily.

" _Acknowledged_ "

Shepard chuckled at the interaction "I'm sure you'll get to see the blue for yourself, we'll be docked here for a while."

"And my baby gets maintenance and upgrades" Joker grinned, "Garrus had been raving about this Thanix Cannon for ages."

"Yes, the engineers and Tali will be supervising. And EDI herself, of course. The crew will work in shifts so that everyone gets to have shore leave"

"Great, I have been looking forward to going to a club called Peekaboobs"

"Peekaboobs" the commander arched an eyebrow.

EDI chose this time to chime in again " _A well-known strip-club in Nos Astra."_

" _Thank you_  EDI" Joker said tersely.

Shepard laughed and waved in goodbye as she pivoted and left the cockpit "I see the ship will be in good hands. Just, wash them first, yeah?"

" _The decontamination procedure at the ship's entrance cleanses all germs, STDs included_ " EDI was forever helpful.

The commander threw her head back and laughed loudly. And she continued doing so even as she left the muttering Joker who took it up upon himself to confront his artificial co-pilot.

Only a few more hours, the docking on a commercial planet took ages without advertising Spectre clearance, and she would meet Liara again. Her smile froze at the thought as dread ran though her veins - she truly didn't know what to expect. Plus she would have to juggle recruiting two new teammates and Miranda's personal request as well.

"Shepard!" Garrus grinned as he came out of the elevator, "Just who I wanted to speak with. You'll be taking me to see Liara, right? And Tali. They wrote to each other once in a while but I admit to having been negligent in that regard. I'm really looking forward to seeing her again."

The commander nodded "Definitely you two. I'm not showing up with a Cerberus escort. It is enough we have their fucking logo painted on the ship. She doesn't need to be an information broker to be suspicious right off the bat."

"Liara is smart" Garrus smiled, "She'll understand."

"God, I really hope so"

/

"Welcome to Nos Astra. All your docking fees have been waived. My name is Cereena. If you need information about any of the areas or specific shops, it would be my pleasure to assist you"

Shepard eyed suspiciously the provocatively dressed concierge, and her two mech guards "How come we get the free pass?"

"Your fees have been paid in full by Liara T'Soni" the asari said chipperly, "She also requested I direct you to speak with her at your earliest convenience. Here are the directions. Her office is over the trading floor which I can guarantee you has the most diverse goods here you have seen so close to the Terminus."

"Liara?" Shepard perked up, "What can you tell me about her?"

Cereena smiled "She is a respected information broker."

"She might know where we could find our two candidates" Jacob butted in.

"Yeah, right. We'll do that" the red-head nodded absently and thanked the concierge. The asari gave them all a big practiced smiled and left them alone.

Garrus bumped his bff "Me and Tali are ready to go!"

The quarian nodded "Liara seems to be really successful. And hey, it looks like she knows you're alive."

"Liara. Right" Shepard deep breath, "Well, no time like the present."

"Commander" Miranda uncharacteristically antsy.

Shepard nodded "You may go, just radio when you finish or if anything comes up. Oh, and take Trev with you. And Grunt too."

"There is hardly the need…"

"There is" the red-head affirmed sternly, "We have enough people so you're getting back-up."

"Very well" Miranda nodded. She met the eyes of her two companions and it calmed her nerves down some - Shepard had chosen well. The matter of Oriana was of utmost importance to her, as well as its secrecy, and Trevelyan had an unflinching moral compass and considered family a sacred thing. As the late Dr. Archer could attest to. Grunt on the other hand, would not care enough about her sister to gossip about it.

Shepard hummed in satisfaction and then turned to Jacob "You start the resupply, maintenance, contact the cannon guy, the works. Radio if there's a problem. Everybody knows what to do? Great. Disperse!"

The Cerberus operative didn't wait for anything more and started striding towards the trading floor. Grunt and Trev had to jog to catch up.

"What is our assignment?" Trev asked.

Miranda's step faltered minutely "It's… a personal matter. I would really appreciate your discretion on this."

"Does that mean we don't get to know?" the templar arched and eyebrow but then shrugged at the small nod and apologetic smile she got in return.

The small group silently made their way to the Eternity bar, only once commenting about the view. Grunt grinned widely when the stepped into the bar and made a bee-line to the bartender while Miranda slipped into a private room where her contact was waiting for her. Trev sighed and resigned to wait beside the door, listening to the woes of an indentured quarian.

And fending off the attentions of a drunk turian who ventured to her from a bachelor party that was happening in the corner. And who apparently found glaring to be a turn on.

"Something wrong?" Trev frowned when Miranda came out of the room even more rigid than usual.

"Possibly" the brunette swallowed thickly, "Let's get Grunt."

After they wrestled the glass out of the krogan's hand and found transportation, Miranda steeled herself behind the wheel "Ok, here's the situation. We're rescuing my twin sister from my father and the Eclipse mercs he hired."

Grunt grinned "I hope they put up a good fight."

Trev rolled her eyes and focused more on the other piece of information "I assume the mercenaries are the complication, so what was the original mission?"

Miranda frowned, obviously not overly enthusiastic about having to share "I feared that my father might've found out where my sister is hiding so I arranged to have her relocated."

"What is her name?"

"Oriana"

"Miranda and Oriana, huh?" Trev smiled minutely, trying to ease the tension, "Pretty. Never heard those names in Thedas."

The brunette hummed absently "They are star-related."

"Eclipse drop ships" Grunt spoke up.

Miranda turned her head and her eyes sharpened "We'll draw their attention from Oriana. They'll hold fire, wanting to speak."

"If you say so" the templar said mildly. When their third teammate growled in displeasure Trev chuckled "Do not worry Grunt, I will bet you anything we will have to fight. A lot. I called Shepard but they won't make it. It's just us."

"Good" the krogan smiled. Then he turned to Miranda "Bet you're glad we came along."

Miranda pursed her lips. And then again harder as they had to evade weapons fire. Then suddenly the firing ended and they were allowed to land, proving the XO right.

Grunt was practically humming with excitement when they disembarked and were met by the Eclipse. And their especially cocky team leader in tech armor "So you're one that kidnapped the boss' little girl."

Trevelyan stilled behind the brunette but said nothing.

"Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about Niket, he won't be helping you. Thought you've got it all lined up, huh? One last chance to walk away."

A beat of silence passed, no doubt Miranda was trying to think up an appropriately snarky reply. Then Trev lunged forward and with one swift motion she used her new favorite - the omni-blade - to drive it into the man's neck, while Grunt used his assault rifle on a crate that was coming over the rest of the mercenaries. The resulting explosion scattered the Eclipse.

"Hahaha! Did you see that salarian's face!" Grunt laughed loudly.

"I really miss my sword fighting days" Trev lamented instead.

"Evidently you make do" Miranda shrugged as she aimed her SMG.

The fight was over rather quickly, even with only the three of them, mainly thanks to Grunt's quick thinking with the exploding crate earlier.

"Clear" the krogan announced with much satisfaction as they approached the elevator.

Trev nodded at his assessment and turned to Miranda with a hard look on her face "You owe us an explanation. Not half-truths, omissions and need-to-knows. All of it. Now."

"What we need now is to get to Oriana before anyone else does" the brunette said harshly.

"No, operative Lawson" Trev said curtly, "I will not be aiding a child kidnapper."

"I rescued her! And she's not a kid!" Miranda lost control for a moment but immediately calmed down, "She'll be nineteen this year. We  _are_  twins, we have the same DNA but father grew her when I was a teenager. She was meant to replace me. I couldn't let what father did to me happen to her. So I took her when I escaped. She has a new, good, family and doesn't know about anything."

"Wait,  _grew her_?" Trevelyan's eyebrows nearly shot from her face.

"Yes" the sentinel gritted her teeth, "Both of us are genetically engineered."

"You grew up in a tank? Like me?" Grunt exclaimed eagerly.

"Well, not exactly. But close enough" Miranda admitted. Then she turned to the noble "Is that enough for you, Ser Trevelyan? Can we go rescue Oriana now?"

Trev nodded and called for the elevator. Mirada nodded in satisfaction and collected the radio the mercenaries were using form a corpse nearby.

"Who's Niket?" the noble asked as they rode up a floor.

"A friend who helped me escape"

"Do you trust him?" Trev asked as they listened to the radio.

"Yes" was another curt reply.

On the next floor the trio encountered more Eclipse - mechs, engineers, biotics and soldiers. Plenty of them. With the amount of cover the loading floor provided they had to proceed slowly. The process was helped by the amount of hazardous materials being transported - following Grunt's example, they used it to their advantages, hoping they wouldn't need to pay for damages.

In a full between fights the radio received another transmission. About how Niket was cooperating.

"That can't be right" Miranda mumbled.

Yet another transmission, this time when they took another elevator. The brunette punched the metal wall "Why can't this thing go any faster!"

Trev was surprised to see the brunette so frazzled and out of sorts. It really did seem she cared about Oriana. And the beginning of the sting of betrayal was starting to show as well. "Why are you so sure about Niket?"

Miranda straightened and replied woodily "He's the only tie I didn't cut when I escaped. He knows why I did it. What I saved Oriana from. And he could've betrayed me at any time but he didn't."

"So he knew about your sister?"

"No. I didn't want anybody to know. I'm very protective of her. I only told him recently, to help with the move"

"Ah"

"No. No 'ah'!" Miranda shook her head, "He knows what I went through."

Trev merely nodded. All three of them knew what was going on, even if the third was still in hopeful denial.

Denial that didn't last long.

"Miri?" the man next to the asari in yellow Eclipse armor exclaimed.

Miranda let her eyes close for a millisecond before stating matter-of-factly "Niket. You sold me out."

The man was indignant right until Trev asked about money. Then it turned into a story as old as time.

Miranda had enough and lifted her weapon, only to have it lowered by Trevelyan in the classic paragon interrupt. She lifted her own pistol but it seemed Captain Enyala was getting bored as well and decided to move things along.

When her old friend's body hit the ground from the shotgun wound Miranda growled and lit up in blue. Taking it as a signal, both the Eclipse and the Normandy ground team rolled into cover and started firing at each other.

When the noise finally died down, the trio stood victorious.

Miranda took a moment to look at Niket once more. Then she shook her head "Let's go. There might be more of them on the landing pad."

Grunt and Trev nodded, brandishing arms once more. Fortunately they didn't have to use them. Instead they had the pleasure to see a girl with an uncanny resemblance to their XO talking animatedly with an older couple that probably were her adoptive parents.

"She looks happy" the Ostwick native commented.

"Good. That's all I wanted for her" Miranda smiled.

A moment later the brunette turned to leave. Trev caught her arm "You're not going to say hi?"

"No. It's better she doesn't know anything. Safer that way"

"Would it be so bad for her to know she has a sister who loves her?" Trevelyan countered.

Miranda stared longingly at her sister and her family. Then she breathed out quietly "I guess not."

"Go on, we'll wait here"

After the brunette reached the family, Grunt and Trev divided their attention between looking out for trouble and watching the heartwarming scene. The parents were quite obviously uneasy and surprised, but Oriana seemed really excited and accepting.

"Seems to be going well" the templar commented. Grunt shrugged.


	13. Stage Two - Anger

"I leave you for one mission. Not even mission, just a conversation and you end up in gunfire. From now on policy is to move in threes minimum" Shepard dictated as she paced in the infirmary where Trev was having her leg treated.

"It's just a scratch. Medigel took care of it. I didn't even feel it" the templar rolled her eyes, "Plus now I might guilt Lawson into a more thorough explanation."

"You still should've waited. My team wasn't  _that_  far off"

"We needed to hurry. And we wiped the floor with Eclipse anyway"

"Grunt proudly showed me a scar. A krogan! That means he got hit by something  _big_ "

"I think it was a Throw. He landed badly. And he loves the scar. Ever since he discovered the wound he wouldn't shut up about it"

"Humph"

"You are perfectly fine, Ser Trevelyan" doctor Chakwas announced, "You can go. And you Shepard, stop berating her because you're angry at Liara."

Trev let out a small 'oh' and Shepard shrugged all too nonchalantly. They both bid their goodbyes to the doctor and filed out of the infirmary.

"It didn't go well?" the templar asked.

"Oh, it went fantastic" Shepard snarked, "Got a kiss and then I was sent on a scavenger hunt, illegal hacking to boot. No talk. At all. Only that she knew about me and Cerberus though her ' _sources_ '. Like a fucking mob boss. No explanations, nothing. Apparently  _that's not the way it works here on Illium_."

Trev took note of the mocking note at the end "Feel better?"

"Yeah" the red-head admitted, "Garrus thinks Liara merely grew up and this was perfectly normal. Tali is convinced she couldn't really talk, eavesdropping and all."

"She might have a point. Liara is an information broker"

Shepard sighed sadly "She used to be a shy, geeky archeologist."

"Well, her lover died. It had to have affected her"

"Yeah"

Trevelyan smiled minutely "Come on, be petty. I know you want to."

Shep waited for the elevator doors to close. Then she pressed the button for her cabin and huffed "I loved her just as she used to be. Now she threatened to flay someone alive with her biotics and sending commandos. I mean, I understand how threats work, but no way the archeologist I picked up on Therum could do that. I feel… I don't know her anymore. I know two years have passed but… I don't know. Do I make any sense?"

"You do"

"Well, good" the vanguard slumped in defeat.

…

"She dismissed me" Shepard spoke again, "Like I was someone she knew from school and hasn't seen since. An acquaintance. Like I didn't matter. Like  **we** didn't matter."

Trev waited for more but the commander seemed to cross firmly into brooding. She patted her shoulder "How about we sample some more local alcohol?"

"I wish" Shepard sighed, "But tonight we mount an expedition to get our assassin."

"We got the info?"

"Liara is a very good information broker. She says so herself"

"And the second candidate?"

"We'll do her tomorrow" Shepard shrugged. Then with a sigh she exited the elevator that had reached their destination a while ago "I think I'm going to take a nap. I suggest you do the same and rest that leg - tonight we'll be busy."

"Rest well" Trev smiled encouragingly and pressed the button for crew's quarters.

Before the doors closed again Shepard smiled gratefully at her "Thanks Trev."

When the elevator started its journey down, the noble inspected her leg - she really didn't feel a thing. She had been surprised to see blood when she took her armor off.

"EDI, has Gardener managed to make something edible today?" the blonde asked after nodding in satisfaction at the medigel-rich bandage.

" _There have been no complaints today_ " the voice overhead answered.

"And today's special is?"

" _Ravioli_ "

"Sounds Antivan"

" _I have no data to that effect_ "

The Free Marcher chuckled.

" _Trev?"_

"Yes?"

_"I'm glad you're mostly undamaged"_

Trevelyan chuckled harder "Thanks, EDI."

/

The entirety of the ground team reconvened for dinner before they would go out to try to recruit their new assassin. The mess sergeant even procured them dessert before the big mission.

"… And then the guy just threw his arms over his head and yelled "My cabbages!"

Everybody laughed at Garrus' impassioned edition of a restocking trip he and Shepard endured during their SR-1 days.

"Alright, alright" Shepard made a stopping gesture, "Onto business."

"Aww, I was just preparing that story when you…" the turian practically pouted.

"Better not" the Spectre smirked, "So, Thane Krios. His target tonight is Nassana Dantius, a grade A bitch if you want to know."

Tali nodded "Backstabbing bosh'tet."

"Yup, we met her on our Saren hunt" Garrus chimed in, "Lovely lady indeed."

"We'll be taking the skycars for rent, so we'll take a Cerberus pilot with us that can pick us up after. We'll get dropped on the tower that is under construction and use the bridge to cross to the one Nassana is in. Krios will be probably doing the same. Expect resistance - probably Eclipse."

"Heh, heh, heh" Grunt said with deep satisfaction.

"What he said" Shepard chuckled, "Thane is a professional so we'll probably won't catch up to him until he reaches Nassana. And to be perfectly clear - we're here to recruit the drell, not save Dantius. Sorry Trev."

The templar shrugged. She had morals, but this was a new word with new rules. "You're a Spectre, you have the authority to judge someone guilty of a crime. Execute them too."

"I do? Right, I do! Awesome"

"Shepard" Miranda sighed, trying to bring things back on track.

"Oh, sorry. I was finished anyway" the commander shrugged, "We'll go at twenty hundred hours. Be armored and be ready."

"Aye-aye" everybody chorused and turned to the dessert, except Jack who decided to take hers to her spot. Mordin and Miranda followed her example and left as well.

Trev quickly finished and followed the white-clad brunette "Miranda, wait up."

"What is it, Ser Trevelyan.? Oh, and I wanted to thank you for not bringing up Oriana. I really appreciate it"

"Well, that is awkward" the templar smiled, "As it is exactly what I intended to do right now. I was interested in the genetically engineered part."

Miranda eyed her for a moment and then nodded "That is not a secret. Very well, I will tell you in exchange for your silence on this matter. Not right now, later."

"Thank you" Trevelyan smiled widely - she was insanely curious about it and knew that it was quite sensitive for the icy brunette. Miranda nodded again and turned to enter her office when Trev spoke up once more "Will you remain in contact? With Oriana?"

"I'm not sure"

"You know, there isn't anything I wouldn't give to have my siblings around me once more"

"I do" Miranda said seriously, "I do know."

"Good. I envy you your chance"

After a beat the operative turned to her doors but said "I won't waste it."

"I'm glad"

/

"Is he praying?" Shepard arched her eyebrows and turned to their resident expert.

Trev eyed the drell's clasped hands, closed eyes and serene expression on his alien face. She hummed "It appears so."

"Great, we have two of them now" Jack complained loudly.

"Pshh, let him finish" the templar hushed her.

"Yeah, don't be rude" Garrus flicked his mandibles in amusement.

Jack shrugged "Whatever. Oh, did you know I was in a cult once?"

"Pshh"

Thane lifted his head and looked over the group before him, before his eyes settled on its leader "I thank you for waiting. Now, I am most curious as to why you have sought me out. And went through some considerable trouble to do so too."

"You mean the Eclipse? Phe" Jack scoffed.

"Bunch of nitwits" Zaeed chuckled.

"Heh, heh, heh"

Shepard smiled indulgently at her squad and turned to Thane "I'm on a mission - to take down the Collectors. They are abducting entire human colonies, like Freedom's Progress or Horizon. We need the best and your name came up. How about it?"

"I see" Krios hummed and looked outside the windows to the colorful Nos Astra skyline, "If you seek to end the Collectors, you'd need to pass through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so."

Shepard shrugged "Meh, impossible is overrated. Got into Ilos too, didn't I?"

"And drove a mako though a relay" Garrus chimed in.

"And got resurrected" Tali nodded.

"Yep, I'm awesome" the commander winked but then her face turned serious, "Somehow it feels my whole career was built on performing the impossible but I won't kid you, this one is a doozy."

A corner of Thane's mouth lifted up "Low survival odds don't concern me. This was to be my last job, I'm dying you see."

"Oh… That sucks"

"I always loved how sensitive you are, Shep" Kasumi rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I can say it! I died too!"

"Yes, please try not to repeat the feat too soon" Miranda sighed and turned to the drell, "We weren't aware, but we have great doctor on board, we might be able to help."

"No need, I have made my peace with it. Now I am trying to make this dark universe a bit brighter before I die" Thane shook his head, "Saving your colonists seems like a god opportunity to do so."

"So you're in?" Shepard perked up.

"I will join you on your mission"

"Great!"

"Shepard, we should go" Jacob interjected, "We caused quite a bit of ruckus."

Kasumi patted his arm in a patronizing manner "This is Illium. Nobody gives a damn as long as they're not concerned."

"He isn't wrong though, we have accomplished our objective, even saved some salarians along the way, so we can skedaddle" the commander nodded, "Miranda, call our ride, please."

"The blue bitch has a landing pad near, right? Cause I ain't tracking all the way back" Jack announced.

"Right on the roof" Thane answered, obviously having studied the layout of the place, "It's been cleared. But there is automatic targeting for flying vehicles still on."

Kasumi cloaked "I'm on it."

"Great! See Krios, we're a tight team" Shepard grinned, "Come on, let's smuggle you onto our ship."

/

The Normandy ground team slept in the morning following the Thane recruitment mission - Shepard had even asked EDI to move their alarms clock so everybody got two hours off their normal starting time.

Naturally not everybody used it. For example Mordin was bright and early as always. He in turn woke up Ser Trevelyan for her usual morning shots. The Templar grumbled but since they were working she didn't take complain too much.

And the shots were really working - she only lamented she wouldn't get to bring them to Thedas and help her fellow templars. She knew that Cullen spoke of wanting to build something of a convalescence center for his former colleagues and Mordin's shots would really make a difference.

Trev sighed - it did no good pondering on things that could never be. She just had to have faith her being here was according to the Maker's plan. Or something. But the Maker's plan sounded better.

"Hello Garrus, up early?"

"Oh hey" the turian greeted back, "Yeah, I'm starting on the dextrose coffee before Tali gets to it."

"And I see you donned your new armor" Trev noted.

"Fetching isn't it" he replied and used his talon to fake-polish it.

"Indeed. Although the rocket hole did give it some vintage charm"

"Well, I might..."

"If you get hit again, Shepard might kill you"

Garrus chuckled "Good point. So, did you meet with our newcomer yet?"

"Not yet. But I asked EDI about drell religion and it was quite interesting. And I think he is another sane element. Lawson will be happy" the templar winked.

"Speaking of our elusive XO," Garrus hummed, "What was the deal with you two and Grunt going on a mission alone."

Trev shrugged dismissively "Miranda asked for a favor and Shepard insisted on having backup. It was personal."

"Okay. Hmm…" Garrus tapered off.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to do something to before we hit the relay if at all possible. Maybe if we have time... hm. Sorry to leave you, but I need to look into something" the former vigilante left abruptly.

"Ok" Trev said in confusion but shrugged.

When Garrus disappeared with his coffee, she returned to her tea and went in search for something to eat. Preferably pre-made. Or maybe she could convince somebody to join her on breakfast in Nos Astra. That would be a treat, she never had asari food. Obviously.

"EDI, who from the squad is awake?" she asked.

" _Mordin, Garrus, Miranda and you_ "

"Are they busy?"

" _Please specify_ "

Before Trev could do so, the doors to the XO dungeon opened as Miranda went in search for her own morning caffeine fix. "Good morning."

"To you as well. May I offer you some tea?"

"I prefer coffee but thank you" Miranda declined. The blonde noble made a face. She found the drink bitter and wholly unappealing. The brunette chuckled when she noticed the expression "Heathen."

Trev smirked at the joke "You are all too addicted to it. It serves no purpose."

Miranda arched an incredulous eyebrow "You do see the transformation Jacob goes though each morning, right? From zombie to human?"

Trev shrugged and pointedly sipped from her own tea. She and Gabby Daniels from engineering were the only tea drinkers on the ship, and the other woman went with the resupply just yesterday. The tea was delicious. Maybe staying on board was the better course of action.

"Does Thedas even have coffee?" the XO hummed in thought.

"I do not believe so. The only beverage other than tea was hot chocolate, at least to my knowledge"

"Well, it least you got that" Miranda's eyes uncharacteristically twinkled.

Trev took another surreptitious look at the brunette - if she liked the sugary treat, it surely didn't show. "Indeed. Although Orlais is known for their culinary experiments, they never touched the chocolate. The nobles wouldn't have it."

"Orlais, you spoke of it quite often"

"Well, I did spend the majority of my life there. But not enough not to think some of their culture is silly. Did I tell you about the masks?"

Miranda nodded "Part of the Game, I seem to remember. It represents how you are hiding your true self beneath a mask. Intriguing take on the sentiment."

"Yes, the Grand Game" Trev said tersely, "That is one thing I do not miss. I always thought let the nobility have it, but that it was not the place for the clergy or the Templar order."

"But politics is everywhere. Especially if the Divine is a voted position" the operative smiled knowingly.

"I never liked it, but I understand it" Trevelyan sighed, "Being raised as a noble, even if outside Orlais, I was taught how to play as a matter of utmost importance. Oh, how mother wanted me to rise in the ranks of the Chantry. Wouldn't talk to me for weeks when I announced my intention to serve the Maker as a Templar instead. Simple brutes she calls us."

"In those ranks you rose quite high from your recounting"

"Yes. To be honest, if I stayed in Thedas I might have had a shot to become the Right Hand of the Divine" the templar said with pride.

"Really?"

"Well, the sisters finally got their heads from up their asses and offered their support to either Cassandra or Leliana. I knew them both very well and worked with them often. Plus Cassandra wanted to leave to rebuild the seekers so she would've declined the post if Leliana was chosen"

Miranda fiddled with her coffee, not really knowing what to say.

Trev chuckled without much humor "It wasn't meant as a slight to you as part of Cerberus. Plus it wasn't even guaranteed and it was actually more probable I would've died fighting against Corypheus and his corrupted armies."

"We'll be fighting corrupted armies?" Grunt asked gleefully as he approached.

Trevelyan laughed and even Miranda chuckled "Sorry Grunt, no corrupted armies today."

"Oh, pity" the krogan practically pouted.

"Well, Shepard said we'll try to recruit Samara today and so far no mission has gone without fighting. Even when it wasn't supposed to" Miranda shrugged.

"Good" Grunt perked up and went in search of breakfast.

"Where is Gardener anyway, shouldn't he be making breakfast?"

"Apparently there is a problem in the male bathrooms and he's taking care of it" the second in command answered.

Trev pursed her lips "Right from the latrine to the foods table. Lovely."

"What is lovely?" Shepard asked.

It didn't take long for the entire team to meet up in the mess hall, all of them well rested and hungry. Fortunately no one had been injured the day before, even if the Eclipse was really trying. That was another novelty to Trev - so far no deaths and barely some scrapes. Some of it could be attributed to the marvel that was medigel but the rest was pure skill and teamwork.

"Commander, the guy from the Thanix cannon arrived" Jacob reported as he finished up his eggs.

"Great" Garrus perked up, "I'll stay behind today, Shepard, if that's ok. Besides, I don't think is wise to tempt the justicar with my former vigilante status."

The red-head nodded with a sigh "I gave it some thought earlier and I agree. In fact I was thinking of taking only Trev and Grunt. Trevelyan practically radiates decency and Grunt shouldn't have done anything Samara might disapprove of yet."

"Also Ser Trevelyan's Smite would be invaluable is the justicar proved to be hostile" Miranda pointed out.

"Yeah" Shepard sighed again.

"So, the rest of us have the day free?" Kasumi looked up from her meal.

"Yes  _master thief_. You should be out of sight definitely" the commander nodded with a chuckle, "Same goes for the convict, the mercenary, the Cerberus terrorists, the architect of the genophage, the assassin. Oh wait! Tali, are you a criminal?"

"I do not believe so" the quatrain huffed and crossed her arms.

"Awesome, you're coming too"

"Thank you for thinking of me" Tali said with a voice laden with sarcasm.

"Sorry" Shep shrugged

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just a perfectly respectable quarian"

"I know Tali, that's why you're going" the commander gave her a charming grin, "So, let's get us a justicar!"

/

"So, Liara said to speak with an officer Dana"

Trev took a look inside the minimal security satiation "There is only one asari in there."

"Officer Dana?" the commander tried.

"Yes?"

Shepard fist pumped. Then she cleared her throat and her face turned to her business one "I'm here concerning justicar Samara."

The asari looked up from her paperwork with a horrified expression "Shit, did she kill someone already?"

The Normandy group all looked at each other with mild apprehension. Shepard shrugged "Not to my knowledge. We merely need to speak with her."

"Oh. Good" the cop let out a relieved breath, "She's at the Commercial Spaceport. She's been giving trouble to Anaya. Just take a cab there."

"Thanks" the human said and got a nod in return.

As the trio made their way to the cab pad, Trev hummed "They seem really preoccupied by her."

Shepard chuckled "Of course. According to EDI and what she could find on the justicars, their code has them to stand against corruption and all law breakers. And this is Illium."

"Heh, heh, heh. Like fish in a barrel" Grunt smiled widely.

"Indeed"

Trev hummed again. She had asked her AI friend for information about the justicar order as well. She had been reminded of the Seekers in some aspects. It made her feel really homesick.

"Guys, do you hear that?" the red-head turned her head.

Tali cocked her head and asked "Is that poetry?"

Everybody turned in search of the author, only to notice the big krogan. Shepard grinned "This I gotta hear."

/

The atmosphere in the Commercial Spaceport was tense. All the traders and their guards were idle and suspiciously eyeing each other, while at the same time keeping an eye out for the infamous justicar.

Detective Anaya was hiding the tension well, being the tough cop she was, but it was obvious as soon as commander Shepard asked about Samara.

"She's at the crime scene" the asari finally told them, "I really hope she'll join you. Preferably soon - my bosses want her out of here or in custody, and she would resist arrest and I would die."

"Can't you just, ya know, don't do it?

"No"

"Oke doke" Shepard shrugged, "So what crime scene?"

"The one with all the tape" Anaya rolled her eyes, "Someone killed a volus merchant in the back alleys. I was thinking Eclipse but I can't prove it."

"Grunt, your favorites" Trev chuckled and bumped the big krogan beside her. He grinned.

"Do try not to make more trouble for me" Anaya eyed them sternly, "Here. I gave you authorization to enter the crime scene. Go away and try to take Samara with you."

"Aye-aye" Shepard mock saluted and waved for her team to leave.

True to the detective's word, they were let into the back alleys with ease. Seeing their new environment, Trevelyan decided she would try her omni shield again. During the Thane mission it had proven invaluable, especially when their covers crumbled since most things were still under construction.

It didn't take long and the templar did have to deploy the shield as the Eclipse mercenaries didn't take kindly to trespassers into what they considered their territory.

The asari didn't have a chance - Tali gleefully used her drone, named Chatika vas Paus, to flush them out of cover, while Grunt and Shepard charged without abandon. Trev resigned herself to be the portable cover, as most fighting occurred in close quarters.

"That's the stuff!" Shepard laughed, all flushed with the expended biotic energy, "I didn't get to charge this often in a long time."

"Well, with our normal squad composition it is better to bunker down and shoot" the blonde reasoned.

"I know. That why I'm enjoying this so much!"

"Yes, we have noticed" Tali said with humor in her voice, "But it seems the Eclipse has learned. We haven't seen anybody in a while."

Both Grunt and Shepard pouted. They did notice.

Soon it became clear just why all the Eclipse sisters made themselves scarce - Samara herself. The justicar was... highly impressive. Awe inspiring biotics that crushed anybody in her way, and impressive serenity while she was questioning one of the mercenaries which she ultimately killed. Oh, and impressive cleavage too. Just to complete the list.

"Are you friend or foe?" Samara asked the respectfully waiting group.

"Friend" Shepard smiled, "Definitely friend. We are actually here to speak with you. I'm commander Shepard, council Spectre. And Alliance military. Sort of. That's a bit complicated."

Samara didn't respond to the humor and merely inclined her head in greeting "Samara, servant of the Justicar Code."

Shepard nodded and in an 'ah' moment and introduced her companions "Ser Trevelyan, Tali'Zorah vas Neema and Grunt. Us, and others of my team, are seeking to end the abduction of entire human colonies in the Terminus by eliminating the Collectors. Due to the difficulty of the mission we seek the best to aid us. Your participation would be a boon."

"I sense truth in your words" the aged asari hummed, "A worthy mission. But I'm afraid I have a mission of my own. I'm perusing an incredibly dangerous fugitive."

"I really wish you'd have gone with the Spectre" detective Anaya sighed as she approached, flanked by two of her officers, "I have orders to take you into custody and I was hoping to survive it."

Samara inclined her head again, this time in acquiescence "I understand. My Code will let me be detained for a day, but after that I must resume my mission."

"Great" Anaya let out a resigned sigh.

"Hey, tell you what" Shepard interjected, sensing her chance, "How about I try to find your fugitive. Anaya gets to live, you finish your mission and maybe consider helping us out against the Collectors."

Samara thought for a brief moment and then nodded "The fugitive I seek had been smuggled off world by the Eclipse. I must know where she is heading."

Shepard nodded as well "We'll do."

"Thank you" Anaya said emphatically and made a motion for the justicar to follow.

"Trev" the commander half-turned to the noble, "Go with Samara and the detective. Just in case."

Trevelyan nodded her assent, knowing she was the only one to have a chance against the justicar if something happened. Plus her own code wouldn't let her leave innocents to die. "Just Grunt and Tali with you?"

"Well, I might call the rest of the team now that the justicar is not coming with us just yet"

"Good idea" the quarian nodded. Grunt just huffed in annoyance - less enemies for him.

Trev chuckled, she was rather fond of the young krogan. "Take care" she called after Shepard and jogged to reach Anaya and her prisoner. Samara arched an eyebrow but said nothing. Anaya gave her a dubious but grateful look as she led the proceedings.

/

After approximately an hour and forty minutes of quiet meditation where nobody inside the police station spoke, too spooked of the justicar, Samara opened her eyes and looked at the relaxed Ser Trevelyan. "Why did your commander leave you here with me?"

The templar never relaxed from her alertness "I might be the only one to stand a chance against you if you decided to lit up this police station."

"Truly?" Samara was intrigued.

"Perhaps. Although I have faith in commander Shepard. She will find the answers you seek"

"You seems quite sure"

Trevelyan smirked imperceptibly and repeated Shepard's words to Thane "She has built a career of doing the impossible. This is hardly it."

"We'll see if your confidence is warranted"

After that, the station fell silent once more. The detective that stopped working when her two guests were talking didn't resume, instead she was raking her evaluating gaze over Trevelyan.

Trev arched an eyebrow. Anaya did the same "Could you really take her?"

"I'd certainly try"

"No human can compare to an asari in biotics, especially one in matriarch age" the cop brought up her hand in a defensive gesture, "It isn't meant as a slight, it's just a fact."

"I believe you"

Anaya's eyes narrowed at the non-answer but let it be. She returned to her papers.

Another hour later all the asari in the station tensed up to the maximum as they spotted Shepard's iconic N7 armor. They relaxed smidgen when the woman herself came inside practically dancing and with a huge smile on her face.

"So?" Anaya prompted.

Shepard gave her a grin and turned to the justicar "Your fugitive Ardat-Yakshi left two days ago on the AML Demeter."

"I'm impressed" Samara inclined her head and stood up, "You have certainly kept your word."

"Yup" the red-head grinned, "Oh and detective, Pitne For is a smuggler, that's why I'm a little high right now. Here's the proof. Aaaand in a magnificent turn of luck we got your murderer as well. A nice confession here and her body somewhere inside." Then for Samara's benefit she added hastily "All done with Spectre authority."

"Thank you" Anaya took the professed documents, "I owe you. For all of it, but especially… Hm, justicar? You  _are_  leaving, yes?"

"I am" Samara smiled almost imperceptibly, "My mission is over, thanks to commander Shepard."

"I'm awesome" Shepard nodded all too seriously, "Sooo, how about you try to catch up to this fugitive on my ship? And then mayhaps lend a hand against the Collectors?"

"I will join you on your mission"

"Splendid! Trev, you can stand down"

The templar chuckled "You really are under influence, aren't you?"

"That's nothing - we met a volus that was proclaiming to be a biotic god. It was hilarious. He nearly charged the mercenaries" Shepard laughed.

Samara smiled indulgently "There is just one last thing to do before I join you fully."

"Which is?"

The justicar abruptly kneeled on one knee and lit up in blue energy. Trev nearly Cleansed her but then she realize what she was doing.

" _By the Code I will serve you. Your choices are my choices, your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my code_ "

The oath seemed to wake up Shepard from her high. She bowed her head "I'm honored."

Samara inclined her head "I admit, I am looking forward to serving with a company of honorable heroes. The life of a justicar can get lonely."

"Honorable heroes" Shepard rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, "Yeeeeeah. Hold that thought."


	14. Stage Two - Anger

"Shepard? Shep?" Trev called when she knocked on the Captain Cabin's doors, "EDI said you're experiencing distress. I know that line well. Shepard?"

When no response came the templar grumbled and then spoke to the AI "Could you please open the doors?"

" _Only the commander and operative Lawson have the authority to enter. Doctor Chakwas if there is a medical emergency_ "

"Then why call me? Ask them"

_"…during your talks with Shepard her stress levels seem to drop. That is not the case with either operative Lawson or doctor Chakwas_ "

"Grand" Trevelyan gritted her teeth and kicked the cabin's door "Shepard, don't make me get Chakwas and her extra big needles!"

"Chakwas can go to hell. EDI can go to hell. And you, you can go to hell too - wouldn't want you to feel left out!" came the reply from inside but the light on the door turned from red to green.

If Trev wasn't so annoyed she would've chuckled. She entered Shepard's quarters and found its owner splayed face down on the couch. A half-drained bottle sat on the table beside it.

"I take your talk with Liara didn't go well"

"What gave it away?" came the muffled reply.

"I don't know. How about the liquor for starters"

"I can't get drunk anymore. Fucking Cerberus and their upgrades"

"Ok then. So what happened at Liara's?"

"Oh, nothing. We just killed her secretary"

Trev was taken aback "I am going to need some background on that."

Shepard sighed and righted herself on the couch "I went to see her as we'll be leaving soon, as you know. She sent me on anther terminal hacking scavenger hunt, and I went because she's  _Liara_  you know."

"I know"

"So we were hunting an agent of the Shadow Broker, because Liara is absolutely fucking obsessed, and it turns out the agent is Nyxeris, her secretary. So Liara sweetly calls her over and then hangs up on me. When I come back the place is pristine 'cause she had already called her  _cleaners_. She has them on speed dial!"

"Well, the asari was a spy so..."

"Yeah, I know" Shepard sighed sulkily, "What gets me is her coldness. And that she only talks about her hunt of the Shadow Broker. And she doesn't want me to help."

"Seems personal"

"Oh it is" the red-head said with her most fake smile, "Apparently, the Broker caught her  _friend_. And she wants revenge. For the  ** _friend_**."

"I can hear the air quotes, go on"

"Also the mission on which the  _friend_  has been captured," Shepard stressed the word again, "Was getting my corpse into her possession, which then she shipped into the Illusive Man's loving hands. Great, isn't it?"

"Oh"

"Yup"

"I guess she had her reasons"

"Must you ruin it? I was brooding"

"I noticed"

Suddenly Shepard's eyes shot up and she exclaimed "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"

"What about?" Trev arched an eyebrow.

The commander bit her lip and asked softly "Did you leave somebody behind after Cerberus kidnapped you?"

Trevelyan quieted, repeated ' _Maker's plan, Maker's plan_ ' several time is her head, and then sighed "Not really. But I miss my family very much even if I haven't seen them in quite a while. And some friends I miss dearly also."

"No one special?"

"I had a  _thing_  with someone" the blonde admitted, "But it wasn't serious. It was more about convenience. Plus she was sort of my boss."

"Wait a second!" Shepard's eyes lit up at the gossip, "Who, who, who? Cassandra? Divine Justinia? No, I know!"

"Yes, it was Leliana" Trev rolled her eyes.

"A chantry sister. You dog" the commander smirked.

"A lay sister"

"Emphasis on lay, huh?"

"Shepard!" Trevelyan exclaimed but couldn't hide her laughter.

"So why it wasn't a real thing? Too spymaster-y? Because that seems to be my issue"

The templar hummed "You aren't exactly wrong. But mainly she was still hung up on the Hero of Ferelden."

"Didn't you say she died?"

"Ten years ago or so"

"That kinda sucks" Shepard declared. Then she quieted, no doubt equating it to her own situation.

"Indeed"

After a beat of silence the red-head rubbed her brow "Still, sorry for being a total douchecanoe and dumping my problems on you."

"Douchecanoe? Do I even ask?"

"Shush, it's a thing"

* * *

Kasumi decloaked and elbowed Shepard "I have a beginning of a joke. Wanna hear it?"

"Sure"

"A human, a drell and an asari walk into a bar and then they start to fuckin' pray" the thief said and made a sweeping motion towards Trev, Thane and Samara in deep conversation in the corner of the mess hall.

Shepard chuckled but Jack standing behind her let out a full blown laugh "Yeah, we got a veritable Holy Trinity over there."

Trev seemed to hear them coming and invited them over "What's so funny?"

"Just exchanging jokes"

Jack nodded "Better than your spiritual or whatever thing."

"If you say so" Thane, Samara and Trev said in chorus. They looked at each other in surprise.

Shepard chuckled "So, I was thinking Omega to follow up on Samara's hunt while the info is still good."

"Thank you Shepard" the justicar said gratefully.

"No problem. Also since we have new teammates and we have still things to load into the Normandy, I was thinking training again"

"NO way Shep" Kasumi frantically shook her head, "Remember last time?"

"Yeah, I'd rather join the pray squad over here" Jack pointed her thumb at the seated trio.

Thane inclined his head thoughtfully "Training sound useful. Squad cohesion is paramount. And it has been a long time since I worked in a group."

Samara nodded "Me as well."

"There you have it" Shepard's eyes twinkled, "EDI, could you go ahead and share the great news with everybody? Two hours from now, armed and ready. No exceptions and no excuses."

"How are you going to enforce that?" Trev said with interest seeing the plotting Jack and Kasumi.

"EDI will make a ship-wide congratulatory announcement, complete with fanfare, every time my absentee training partner takes a dump"

The thief shook her head with a smile "That's evil, Shep."

"Whatever. See you in two hours" Jack slinked away.

Shepard's grin got even wider "See, it works."

Thane chuckled "I will see you in two hours as well but I will take my leave for now."

"I wonder if I could make EDI call The Illusive Bastard every time I take a dump. I'm sure he'd love the update on his asset"

"And on that note I shall return to my meditations" Samara announced and left as well.

"No, really, I'm sure he'll be delighted"

Trev shook her head with a big smile on her face "I'm sure he already has someone to report this vital information."

Shepard nodded with exaggerated seriousness "You're right. It might be the difference between life and death against the Collectors."

"Harbinger awaits the message with bated breath"

"Planning our demise around it, I'm sure"

"How else"

"Are you done?" Miranda asked as she towered over them with crossed arms.

"Oh hey Miranda" Shepard looked up and smiled, "How's it going? We were just talking about your reports!"

"I heard"

"Nice new uniform" Trev complimented, changing the subject from poop reports.

"I liked the white one better" Shepard shrugged.

Miranda rolled her eyes "This one should be easier to clean, which I am going to need as  _someone_  scheduled a training session without informing me. Remember what happened the last time."

"True" the commander admitted, "But this time I rented an arena in Nos Astra. This time everything's going smoothly."

Trev smirked "And if it doesn't, it would certainly make for better report material."

"Better than bathroom times? Indubitably" Miranda arched and an eyebrow but seemed to find it a little bit funny as well.

"Don't pretend TIMmy wouldn't find it riveting"

"How could he resist" the brunette replied dryly.

/

"To minimum damages!"

"To minimum damages!" the ground squad echoed Shepard's toast.

Aethyta, the matriarch bartender that served them, pursed her lips. Once the commander finished her shot, she said matter-of-factly "If you cause any damages here, I'll shatter your spine. Minimal or not."

"Roger that" Shepard nodded genially. Today's training really brought her mood up. She really needed that as they walked past Liara's office on their way to the bar.

"Another!" Grunt bellowed loudly.

"We need something like a designated driver" the red-head sighed.

"I don't imbibe" Thane volunteered from beside his commander.

"Alcohol is against the Code" Samara chimed in.

"Fucking pussies" Jack scoffed and ordered another drink, "Yo Trev! I saw you drink before, so no bullshit yeah?"

"Is that you offering me a drink?" Trevelyan smirked.

"Fuck no"

"How about I offer it instead?" an asari that just came to the bar for a refill smiled at the templar.

"Oooooh!" the squad chorused and turned to watch the interaction.

Trev blushed under all that attention but was saved from being the complete centre of attention since two more asari approached, this time with Miranda and Thane in mind.

Unsurprisingly, all three of them declined the invitations.

"Shepard, you sure we have to leave tomorrow morning? Cause I could go for a roll or two" Jack grinned.

"Only if you manage to squeeze it in the time until we leave"

"Hm, I can do that"

As the convict sauntered away, Shepard shook her head fondly. Cerberus or no Cerberus, she liked this team. Pity EDI couldn't join them. Or that Joker refused to leave his leather seat.

It was great to see them all having fun. She would bet shit will hit the fan soon enough.

/

"Change of plans people!" Shepard announced to her ground team in the briefing room. Fortunately it was later in the afternoon so no persisting hangovers. That was good. They were going to need it. "I'm sorry Samara but this is really time sensitive."

"I understand" the justicar replied even if the disappointment was clear.

Shepard nodded and turned her eyes to the rest of the team "We have Collector activity. Our Illusive Sugar Daddy picked up a turian distress signal in the Caleston Rift. Apparently the turians have managed to disable a Collector ship."

"Really?" Garrus flicked his mandibles, "How many of our ships?"

"TIM says a patrol vessel"

"I call bullshit" the turian decried swiftly.

Jacob crossed his arms and hummed "The ship was pretty banged up after we hit it on Horizon. The turians might've got in a lucky shot."

"Or it's a trap" Kasumi said what was on everybody's mind.

"Precisely what I was thinking" Tali nodded.

Zaeed shrugged disinterest "Who cares. Either way we go in and prepare as always."

"You might be right, but it is still prudent to plan" Trev responded.

Jack huffed "We really go? Even if Cerberus just wants to fuck us over?"

"It is an opportunity to gain information about our enemy" Miranda said tersely.

"You're right, that's why we're going" Shepard nodded, "But how hard would it be to tell us 'Hey, it's a trap. Spring it'."

The Cerberus XO defiantly crossed her arms and said nothing.

"No matter. As Zaeed said, we're going in. I want you all at as prepared as can be, and we're taking heavy weapons too. And everybody take grenades and anything else that might give us the advantage. We're going into hostile territory."

"Don't we always?" Garrus chuckled.

"Yeah" Shepard snorted in amusement.

/

The Collector ship was massive, the Normandy being a small bug in comparison. Also it had a strangely organic feel to it with metal components. That feeling of unsettling largeness got more prominent once the ground team shuttled over. Of course the feeling of 'creepy' soon eclipsed any other.

"Feels like a ghost ship" Kasumi mumbled, even her usual chipperness dampened by unease.

"We have been there before" Shepard sighed, "The Geth ship on Aite. Of course as soon as we got as far as we could, it came back to life."

"I bet you anything that history will repeat itself" Garrus shrugged.

"No bet"

Their radio sprung to life as EDI contacted them with an update " _Shepard, I have run a comparison and this ship is indeed the same as the one that attacked Horizon._ "

"Maybe the colonists are here somewhere" Jacob spoke up.

Nobody reacted out loud to the hopeful statement, but the prevalent opinion was that finding the lost colonists, at least alive, was very doubtful.

The absence of enemies was making everybody jumpy. Then there was the silence, the semi-darkness and the cold. It was eerie.

"A terminal, finally. EDI can mine for data" Miranda said in a relieved voice.

Shepard nodded and tapped her earpiece to issue the order. All the science-minded teammates huddled around the half-dissected Collector and the computer, while the rest spread out to stand guard.

"I want enemies" Grunt huffed and started pacing.

"I'm afraid you'll get your wish quite soon" Trev said, her eyes never leaving the empty corridor before her. Standing guard was something she was used to.

"You spotted something?" the krogan rushed to her excitedly.

"No. Just predicting"

"Humph"

"The Collectors are prothean? Wow, I did not see that coming" Shepard exclaimed from the terminal.

"Pity Liara isn't here" Garrus grinned, "Imagine, the possibility to look into a real life prothean. Even if huskified."

Tali hummed "Pity we can't take it with us."

Jack shrugged "Is this the genetic destiny Harbinger kept going on about? Because if it is, I'll think I'll pass."

"Heinous" Samara declared.

"Fascinating process" Mordin commented, completely at ease and rather excited.

"I'll take your word for it but we need to press on. EDI will download the database or whatever she's doing now" the commander looked at Miranda who nodded. "Alright, let's go."

"Was that computer what we needed?" Trev asked the operative as they started moving again.

"No" Miranda shook her head, "This terminal is isolated, we need to access their main network."

"Ok" the templar shrugged, only really getting the 'we're still looking' part. That got her a smirk from the other woman as she guessed what Trevelyan was thinking. She rolled her eyes at getting caught.

"Oh my god!" Jacob exclaimed as they reached another great door that led them into a truly massive chamber.

"Look at all those pods" Shepard breathed out in dread.

"You think our colonists are there?" Jacob asked.

Miranda shook her head "The pods lost power when the rest of the ship did."

"That's fucked" Jack commented.

"There's no way they could fill this in the Terminus" Kasumi reasoned.

"Earth" Thane contributed.

"Gotta be" Zaeed growled.

"Good thing they're not going to get the chance" Shepard said in a hard voice and started walking down the slope, further into the core of the ship. Everybody resolutely nodded their assent and followed suit.

The great chamber made their words echo so the squad was even more paranoid. But still no Collectors.

"Ok, no enemies and a big glowing console" Kasumi commented when they arrived near a small system of platforms, "That's fishy as hell, right?"

"I concur" Trev nodded.

Shepard sighed "That seems to be the theme. I'm pressing the big flashy button. Does anyone have a better idea?"

…

"Well, fuck" the N7 sighed once more, "Ok, I'm pressing it. Yo EDI, you're ready?"

" _For whatever comes_ "

"Poetic" Jack commented.

" _Ser Trevelyan's influence_ " EDI shared helpfully.

"Tattletale" the templar mumbled.

"Poetry, huh?" Kasumi smirked.

"That's not what she said"

"I'm pressing it!" Shepard interrupted loudly.

Nothing happened. EDI got access and nothing more.

…

Garrus looked around and flicked his mandibles "Dare I say it?"

"Wait for it…"

" _Shepard, we have a problem!"_  EDI exclaimed.

"There it is" the red-head smiled mirthlessly.

Nobody really reacted, merely re-checked their weapons, not surprised in the least. When the platforms started flying and Collectors arriving, the only comment was Tali's 'So much for a crippled vessel'. And then the shooting started.

"SHEPARD"

"Harbinger, my man! How's it going? We were concerned when we saw the lights out" the Spectre quipped and chugged a grenade where she spotted the glow.

"Nice one" Zaeed said as he did the follow up on Harbinger.

The bug-man disintegrated and another one started glowing "YOU CANNOT KILL ME. BEHOLD, I AM THE…"

"Save the rocket launcher for the bigger ones!" Miranda shouted.

"He's annoying" Jack shrugged.

The remaining collectors suddenly lit up in blue, courtesy of Samara's reave. Shepard grinned "Biotics! Detonate them!"

Fortunately for the squad the platforms were sturdy because the biotics were quite overzealous with their attacks.

"EDI, can you land this shit?"

" _Landing procedures in progress_ "

"Thank you"

The platform they were on stopped spinning and sped up towards the ground floor.

"Well, that was fun" Kasumi commented

"It actually was" Trev grinned under her helmet, "I've never flown before."

"Helloo? You live on a ship?"

The aforementioned ship hailed them on radio " _Shepard, the power is back on. The engines are coming back online._ "

"Great, and now we're on timer. I hate being rushed" Zaeed grumbled.

"Don't worry" Garrus shrugged, "In the vids the heroes always make it out at the last second."

"This isn't a vid"

"Oh. Well, then we're screwed"

Shepard was the first to jump off when they finally landed "On the double people! I already died once and doing a repeat so soon would be just sad."

From an outsider perspective the team's progress would be no doubt comical - jumping from cover to cover, trying to rush but cautiously. Funny or not, it came in handy at their first ambush. No one was stingy with their clips or their strength, the aim was to put down the Collectors as fast as they could, and put them down  _hard_.

Another problem was that the ship was trying to lock them in and EDI had to override and hack doors so the Normandy's team could even have a chance.

And then there were the heavies. One scion was no fun, but three of them at the same time? A nightmare.

"FUCK! The big fucker is here!"

"As always we're amazed by your eloquence, Jack"

"It's called a praetorian"

"Who cares cheerleader!"

"Trev! Can you get the barrier? On Horizon you nearly passed out"

"I'll manage"

"Grunt, don't charge it yet!"

"Watch the beam!"

Once they resurfaced from their covers where they withered the blue-ish beams, courtesy of the massive flying collector, Trev slowly began draining the barrier that enveloped it, aided by the peppering of rapid fire.

"The barrier is down" Thane said calmly, him and the justicar being the serene oasis of the team.

Trev sighed in relief and just as on Horizon she chose to leave the rest to her teammates, feeling faint. The  _whooosh_  of rockets and whatnot was letting her know the fight was in good hands.

"Fucker's down"

"SCION ON FLANK!"

Everybody looked to their right, the way they came from and was supposed to be clear. Trev was the slowest to react and it cost her. The first artillery shot shattered the cover and it would've done the same to her if she hadn't desperately thrown herself to the side.

Still, it forced her into the open and further to the back of the chamber they were in.

The second strike made her backpedal to the near ledge of the room and the third made the ridge crumble. The templar lost her footing and even seeing a rocket finally blowing the scion's head off didn't prevent her from falling.

"Trevelyan!" Shepard shouted when she saw the noble having trouble. To everybody's surprise it was Miranda who threw herself to catch their teammate.

Unfortunately the templar was far too gone and Miranda's run only added the force needed to tumble over the ledge. The two women were already several feet down when Miranda caught the Andrastian and turned their fall into a graceful descent with her biotics. Fortunately the lower floor was quite close.

_"Miranda! Trev!"_  Shepard's vice insistent on the radio.

The brunette regained her feet and quickly checked just how safe was the lower floor. Then she tapped the helmet where her right ear would be "We're alright Shepard."

_"Oh thank god! You think you can make it back?"_

"I do not think so but EDI should be able to direct us as she does you. We can rendezvous at the shuttle" the XO shook her head.

_"….Ok_ " Shepard said in a very worried voice, " _But you better make it!"_

"Aye-aye"

Trevelyan stood as well and joined the conversation "I think I left my rifle with you. Could you kick it down?"

A moment later a clanking noise could be heard when a small object came tumbling down along the rough walls.

"Thanks" Trev said happily as she checked if her Mattock was still functional.

" _No problem. We'll see you at the shuttle_ "

Their radios died down and they were left alone. Miranda looked her teammate over and after deeming her ok she said "We need to get moving."

Trev followed without a rebuke, knowing full well they were still on timer and that she just made things worse. As they resumed their trek she spoke up quietly "Thank you. For catching me."

Miranda shrugged. Then after a beat of silence she chuckled "I owe you for my sister. And… not hounding me for answers when I wasn't ready to talk. That meant… a great deal."

"Of course" the templar replied, almost offended - it had been obvious it was a touchy subject that made the usually stoic and cold XO uncomfortable.

The duo continued in silence, their speed picking up to a near jog as they encountered no enemies. Of course that didn't last all too long.

"Well, now they know for sure that we are here" Trev commented.

Miranda nodded "The next time they'll send more. We need to hurry."

As they followed EDI's instructions, and actually jumped down another level that had a steep ramp that hopefully would bring them closer to the shuttle, Trev felt the urge to say "I know this is a really bad time but with the situation as it is, I really want to know."

"Spit it out"

"Why Cerberus?" the noble asked.

"Why Cerberus what?"

"Why did you join" Trev rolled her eyes, sure the brunette was misinterpreting on purpose.

They ran in silence for a while. Then Miranda sighed "You're banking on the 'we might not get out' thing?"

"Maybe just wanting to fill the silence"

"Very well" the sentinel shrugged a bit too nonchalantly, "When I escaped father, I went to Cerberus right away. Father spoke of the Illusive Man as someone even he wouldn't dare cross easily. The Illusive Man took me in, gave me resources and let me grow in the organization without restrictions. I owe him much."

"He gave you a chance" Trev hummed in understanding.

Miranda nodded "He was the first one to do so. A real shot at something that mattered."

Trevelyan smiled to herself. This explained quite a bit. Miranda wasn't loyal to the organization, but the man leading it. What problems Shepard and Jack, and even Trev, had with the Man, he wasn't  _directly_  implicated in.

"And I do agree with Cerberus philosophy - everybody stands ultimately alone, so humanity needs someone like us" the brunette spoke up again, "The Illusive Man isn't a saint and he would be the first to admit it, but he's what humanity needs."

"And what about all those  _mishaps_  and  _unfortunate accidents_  that keep piling up? Is that what humanity needs?"

Their discussion was interrupted by a Collector patrol. Fortunately the numbers were still manageable especially when Miranda pulled all the stops on her biotics.

"Are you alright?" the templar asked when she saw the stagger.

"Yes"

Trev smiled under her helmet - warrior's stubbornness was universal. Then she felt a small pang of guilt, if not for her mistake, they wouldn't need to fight all those bug-men alone.

"Any more questions about my employment?" Miranda surprisingly prompted.

The templar shook her head "No, I find loyalty an admirable trait."

Miranda turned to her and then after a brief pause she nodded "Thank you."

"I might not like where that loyalty is expended, but still… admirable quality."

The brunette actually snorted in amusement "Of course."

"No problem" Trev replied in the same light tone.

EDI opened them another door but this time instead of a corridor like previously it led to a rather large room. Both women instinctively slowed down and gripped their weapons more tightly. When they heard thuds of heavy steps, they reacted immediately and squeezed behind one of those fleshy bends that doubled as cover.

A lone scion rounded the corner. Both sets of eyes followed the walking artillery piece that didn't seem to notice them. It slowly walked through the top of the room, not coming even near to them. When no attack came, both women let out the breath they have been holding - Miranda had only a few grenades left while Trev had zilch.

"That's suspiciously good luck" Trev muttered.

Miranda frowned "It truly is. Cerberus has surmised the Collectors use much more than their eyes to seek out their prey."

"Hm"

"Let's hope it holds. EDI, where next?"

The radio came to life " _Up and to the right. You are quite close to the shuttle."_

"Of course" the templar smiled mirthlessly, "That's where the scion went."

" _I apologize, Trev, but it is the only way forward_ "

Miranda nodded "You think it's a trap?"

"This whole thing was, courtesy of your benefactor"

"It would make no sense to sell us out"

Trevelyan shrugged, she brought it up again in a bout of frustrations but they didn't have time for it "So we can expect a scion and no doubt troopers. Take out the small ones first?"

"I agree. Let's go"

They were nearly where the scion had disappeared to so Trev fired up her omni-shield. If they were truly heading into a trap it should give them time to find cover or eliminate its previous occupant.

It would've been a good plan if instead of regular of weapon's fire the shield wasn't hit with a scion's siege pulse. The first strike blasted the templar and Miranda that had been standing behind her off their feet and into the wall. The shield did its job to keep both women unharmed but nothing more. Even when they were still grasping for breath, they had to scramble out of the blast zone.

"Well, at least we were wrong and he's here alone" Trevelyan hummed.

"Yes, instead of completely screwed we are only slightly screwed"

"Miss Lawson!" the templar laughed at the uncharacteristic swearing and reloaded. She took another look at the room and noticed another ledge over the enemy's head. Remembering just how they got in this situation she exclaimed "Miranda! Can you warp the ledge so it would fall on him?"

"It's not heavy enough, it would only slow him down!"

"He's slow already. If he falls or staggers we could escape"

"In the arms of other collectors and getting attacked on both sides?"

"Warp it while he's still there! We're running out of time"

Miranda frowned but brought forth her already tired biotics. It must've taken quite a bit of power but the ledge started to crumble and then fell down onto the giant.

"EDI, directions" Trev asked hurriedly as they started sprinting.

" _Follow the corridor to its end_ " the AI came to their help, " _And then you have to jump over."_

"What do you mean jump over!" Miranda exclaimed.

" _It is the fastest route. The shuttle is directly on the other side up a ramp. Commander Shepard is already near_ " EDI reported.

"Shit" Trev said helpfully and then blanched when she saw the divide between the inert platform before them and the next side. It was an impossible feat.

"Jump!" Miranda shouted.

The templar decided to trust and leapt. She was still in the upwards arc when she felt a biotic throw on her back. It made the landing rather rough but on the other side of the ravine. Trev finally stopped rolling and stood up just in time to see a Miranda lighting up in blue and gracefully gliding towards her.

Trev was about to make a comment when the brunette collapsed. Trevelyan caught her before she hit the ground. Cursing the full helmet, needed because of the possible seeker swarm, Trev asked worriedly "Miranda? Miranda!"

Seeing her partner out cold, Trev cursed under her breath and lifted the XO over her shoulder.

" _The ramp before you leads directly to the shuttle. Shepard and her team are currently boarding_ " EDI spoke up helpfully.

"We'll be there in a moment" Trevelyan said in a breathless voice, already running again.

" _I'll relay the message_ "

"Thanks EDI"

The tunnel was steep and rather long but the templar kept her speed. She thanked the Maker when she spotted the end of the corridor. Sparing a thought to the usually so composed Miranda she was carrying, she switched her hold and took her into her arms bridal-style. Much more dignified then showing up ass first.

"There they are!" Tali exclaimed in relief.

Shepard did the same "Oh thank god! Joker's already freaking out."

Trev just nodded. When Miranda was taken by Garrus and the doors closed, she crumbled into a vacant seat.

The shuttle took off and everybody sighed, relieved to be out. Nobody spoke outside of Joker, urging them on. The ground team was just too exhausted to even roll their eyes.

" _Finally!"_  Joker nearly screeched on the radio when the shuttle touched the floor of the Normandy.

"Take us out of here" Shepard ordered tiredly.

The tell-tale lurch of the FTL jump didn't really change the atmosphere in the shuttle. Even after Joker's announcement that the ship was in the clear, nobody really had the energy to move.

Jack was the first to break the silence and took off her helmet "Fucking finally, I hate this thing."

"We need them is case of the seeker swarms"

"Fuck 'em" the convict said predictably, "So what happened to cheerleader?"

Trev looked at the limp brunette with guilt "She used too much biotics I would wager."

"That's a bitch headache"

All the biotics nodded sagely to Jack's rather colorful comment. Shepard sighed "Well, time to get her to the sick bay. And all of you take a tour there as well."

"You should go as well commander" Samara advised.

"Oh I will" the red-head smiled mirthless, "I just need to make a call first."

"The Illusive Man" Jacob nodded with a grimace.

"Give him a big fuck you for us"

"Wanker" Zaeed agreed with Jack.

The ground team finally stood up and started leaving the shuttle, most of them mumbling expletives as well. Trev was the last to go as she took the unconscious Miranda with her.

Shepard slowly walked to the elevator and her mouth formed a firm line, already preparing for the call "EDI, hail the boss please, see if he's awake. If he is, fetch him. If he isn't, fetch him."

" _Yes, Shepard_ "

"We need to have a chat"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: There is a quote from Babylon 5 somewhere in there. That one is not mine.


	15. Stage Three - Bargaining

"You'll be glad to know that our venture into the belly of the beast means we know where the Omega Four Relay leads and the Collectors reside" Shepard briefed her ground team the morning following their mission, "Bad news is we can't really get there."

"How so?" Zaeed asked in an annoyed voice.

"The Collector base seems to be in the galactic core" the commander shared.

"Sooo, instant death?" Kasumi asked.

"Yup"

"That will be prevented when we manage to secure a Reaper IFF" Miranda interjected, "The Illusive Man has provided us with an opportunity to obtain it."

Garrus flicked his mandibles "What, another trap?"

Jacob huffed but asked "What did the Illusive Man say about that anyway?"

Shepard sneered "He was completely unbothered. He called our complaints 'petty grudges' that need to set aside. He should be glad we didn't meet in person because I had a strong urge to bash his head in."

"A pity" Jack nodded.

"Understandable" Thane's mouth quirked upwards, sharing the general dislike of the terrorist organization that provided them with funds and intel.

When Miranda didn't offer her usual defense of her boss, Shepard turned to her to notice her XO was still in a bad shape. Deciding to cut the meeting short she clapped her hands "So, we've got the possible location of an IFF but since it's in the hands of a Cerberus cell, I say we can wait on that. We have some other matters to attend to, chiefly amongst them upgrading our ship. Tali has managed to score us some shields which will be invaluable."

"I got in contact with an old friend of mine and I might have a possible lead on some new plating" Jacob chimed in.

"Excellent!" the commander grinned, "Some good news for a change. Right now we're heading to Omega - Samara has some business there and we really need ammo and grenades. Our run against the Collectors put a sizeable dent in our stores. Especially heavy weapon's ammo."

Samara bowed her head "Thank you."

"Of course, I promised. And we were heading there before our detour anyway" Shepard shrugged.

"Still, thank you"

This time Shepard just nodded "If anyone else has nothing to add, this meeting's over. We'll figure out who goes where when we get to the station."

Everybody filed out, only Zaeed and Jack stayed behind, wanting to speak to the commander. Samara was also hanging by the doorway. The rest just went to their usual haunts.

As Miranda exited the elevator on the crew deck to get to her office, Trev followed suit. The XO noticed and sighed "You don't need to follow me all the time."

"It was my fault you got injured so" Trevelyan countered, "You're still wincing from the headache and if I wasn't around, you'd be working already."

"And you think nagging will help the headache any?"

"I have plenty of materials to read. And your couch is very comfortable"

"I'm fine" Miranda sighed in annoyance, "And our fall wasn't your fault. You  _denied_  the barrier and while we were too focused on the pretorian, the scion shot right at you. Could've happen to anybody, get over it."

"I read the possible side-effects of amp overheating and…"

"Oh god, not extranet diagnoses!"

"And I asked doctor Chakwas as well" Trev huffed.

Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose "Do whatever you want. Just stay quiet."

Trevelyan grinned and nodded. She plopped onto the XO's couch and took out a pad. The brunette observed it all with a roll of her eyes and sat behind her desk.

"No computers!" Trev said from her spot on the couch, "The doctor said only after the headache subsides."

"I need to work"

"Surely it can wait to the afternoon"

Miranda huffed "And just what am I supposed to do without turning on my terminal?"

"We could play chess" the templar got excited at the idea, "EDI always wins and with you I might have a chance."

"Not likely" Miranda smirked, "I played ever since I could hold the pieces in my hand without dropping them."

"What a coincidence" Trev grinned, "So have I. It was better than sowing. But not better than weapon's training though."

The grin was reciprocated "Let's see what you got then. Compare heiress education of Thedas and here. But as you know the only chess set aboard is virtual ergo computer made. Is that allowed?"

Trev was torn – one hand she really wanted to play against someone who wasn't an artificial intelligence that was a sure winner, but on the other Chakwas recommended no bright lights or screens. She wasn't really sure how the GUI interface worked, but it was a glowy computer-made construct and…

Miranda's chuckle interrupted the templar's train of thought "Let me make an executive decision then - we're playing. And virtual chess won't affect my health. I should know, a medical degree is one of those I possess."

"Very well"

The XO quickly set up a board, choosing white without a word. Trev eagerly awaited the first move. That eagerness evaporated a few moves in when she realized she was outclassed. Again. First Cullen, then EDI and now Miranda. Maddening.

"Don't pout" Miranda smirked smugly.

"Templars don't pout" Trev said sullenly.

"My mistake then" the brunette's smirk only got more pronounced, "Regardless, you put on a good fight. It's not your fault I happen to be perfect."

Trevelyan once more surveyed the board before toppling her king. Then she sighed and started reorganizing the pieces into the starting positions "No one is perfect."

"I am" Miranda shrugged, "Remember how I told you I was engineered? I have the best genes money could buy and science could produce. Plus the best education and training. Not my choice, but I would be a fool to disregard it."

Trev frowned "That sounds rather… unnatural."

"It is. Father doesn't think much of such things"

"Lovely. No wonder he knows the Illusive Man" the templar hummed but continued, not wanting to get into an argument over their sponsor, "What about Oriana then?"

"I didn't realize all my potential and she was grown to replace me. Her genes are almost an exact match to mine"

"What about your mother?"

"There isn't one. Father's DNA was modified so it would work"

Trev bit her lip "Is it wrong I find it… quite disturbing? Not you! Of course. But the very idea."

"You're not the only one at that" Miranda shrugged again, this time the falseness of it was more pronounced, "But I have made my peace with it. I'm perfect and I might as well use it."

"I can see this is quite an issue for you, but I'm sorry to say you're not perfect"

"Because only god is? Oh, right, you call him the Maker"

"True. But I was thinking more in line nothing can be perfect because that would mean a thing can't improve. What can't improve is stagnant, and what is stagnant is inherently flawed, ergo not perfect."

Miranda raised an eyebrow "Is philosophy another part of heiress training?"

"Of course"

"It's a nice thought, but you should focus more on the game, you're losing again. Checkmate in ten."

"Curses!"

The brunette chuckled "Curses? Really?"

"I still feel the urge to do push-ups when I swear for real" Trevelyan shuddered, "Knight-Captain Silas was in charge of the recruits when I joined. He was… intolerant of many things."

Miranda chuckled "I see. Knight-Captain, isn't that your rank?"

"Sure wasn't then"

A beep from Miranda's omnitool broke the light atmosphere. The brunette looked at the interface and looked apologetically at Trev "I'm sorry, but I need to take this in private."

"TIM?"

"Yes"

"Alright" the templar bowed her head minutely and stood up from her already lost game, "I shall leave you alone. But please rest as the doctor ordered when you are done."

"You could come back" Miranda surprisingly proposed, "Despite being inferior to me, you are quite the opponent in chess."

Trev smiled "I shall come back then. EDI can alert me."

"Ok"

When the Otswick noble left, Miranda took the call and hastily powered on her terminal.

"It is unusual of you to make me wait, Miranda" the head of Cerberus said in greeting, "But I see you at least made some headway with our templar. Good work."

Miranda felt a pang at her conscience but replied swiftly "Thank you."

"Excellent. Now onto other matters…"

* * *

Shepard ran her hand down her face – she was exhausted. Who knew running renegade was more work than all the paperwork in the Alliance combined. Once it was known that some members of her squad asked for some personal matters to be resolved, citing the 'suicide squad' part of their agreement, others joined. Now nearly all of them asked something of her before going to the IFF.

First in line was the Ardat-Yakshi problem of Samara's. She felt for the justicar, she truly did, but going against an asari space vampire wasn't her idea of fun. Being bait was even less appealing. Worst of it was that Samara was adamant about the knowledge of her fugitive's identity wouldn't go any further than her. Shepard was hesitant, she really wanted Trevelyan as backup on this one. Her ability would be invaluable against the pinnacle of asari biotics.

"Shepard, are you ready?" Samara asked.

"To flirt with an impossibly dangerous asari that can melt my brain? Sure"

"No need to be glib commander"

Shepard sighed "Sorry, I'm really nervous."

"I will be right behind you"

"That's nice, but I would really prefer some more back-up. Why not ask Trev in the first place? She'd fry Morinth in one gesture as soon as she lit up"

"She's not my daughter's type" Samara said patiently, "Too…"

"Too good? Thanks a lot"

"Ser Trevelyan embodies everything Morinth despises"

"How nice"

With nothing more to say the two women, or woman and asari to be accurate, left the observation bay and went towards the airlock. Shepard was thankfully not in a dress like for Kasumi's heist but a more comfortable wear. She could pass for a mercenary which was the aim. Still, with only a pistol for protection she felt underdressed.

Once more she went over the information she needed to entice Morinth – she seemed like such a lovely person, you only needed the keywords like danger, darkness, risk and art. She just needed to be a reckless hedonist with an appreciation for beauty. No biggie.

Well, at least this frankly stupidly thought out mission will take her mind off the Shadow Broker dilemma. After the debacle that had been the Collector ship, TIM was trying to get back into her good graces by providing her info on the Broker that was Liara's obsession. Shepard couldn't believe she was actually considering not giving it to her love. Not that she would ever truly withhold it.

"Oooh, civvies!" Kasumi disillusioned near the elevator, "Going somewhere fun?"

"Hardly" Shepard almost whined.

/

"Totally somewhere fun" Kasumi chuckled when Samara came through the airlock half-carrying Shepard.

"Kasumi! Heeeeeey!" the commander laughed.

"You're high"

"Totally" Shepard nodded over-seriously.

"Hellex?"

The red-head was too focused on her left hand to reply so Samara sighed "It would seem so. But our mission was successful. I truly cannot thank you enough, Shepard."

"Was cool. I was in the shadows. Although I don't think I like her too much, she seemed clingy ya know?"

Samara smiled "Of course. Now, let's get you to bed."

"That's what she wanted too!"

"Indeed"

"I thought Kasumi was joking, but this is great" Garrus smirked, having been messaged about the scene by the thief.

Jack laughed loudly "This is precious. How much did you take?"

Trevelyan proved to be much more compassionate and helped Samara carry their commander "What happened? Is she alright?"

"I'm awesoooome"

"Shepard" Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose, she too was notified with the rest of the ground squad by Kasumi "Let's get her to Chakwas, Shepard can sleep it off in the infirmary."

"Good idea" the templar nodded and she and Samara maneuvered the commander into the elevator.

"Oh, I ain't missing this" Jack followed them.

Doctor Chakwas was much less amused when the small party invaded the infirmary "Put her on the bed. Miss Lawson, do you expect any adverse reactions with all your experimental implants?"

"No, if anything it should help process the drug much faster than usual" the Cerberus operative hummed, "To be honest I didn't expect a drug taken in a small dose to work at all. Shepard must've taken quite a lot or it was of better quality than usual."

"What were you doing anyway?" Garrus turned to the leaving justicar.

"Dealing with my fugitive"

"In a drug den?"

"Afterlife, VIP section"

"A drug den" the turian nodded, "Oh well. Hope you had fun Shepard, because I intend to be extra loud at breakfast. If you need to throw up, please do so away from me. Ta!"

Miranda shook her head "Our upgrades will prevent any adverse effects, I told you."

"Bummer" Jack shrugged and left.

Chakwas rolled her eyes "My patient fell asleep, so please see yourselves out of the infirmary."

"She stopped being funny anyway" Kasumi said as she did her usual decloak/cloak routine.

"Shoo"

* * *

Trevelyan changed the heat sink on her Mattock, the motion already automatic. She really got used to these new weapons, even if she missed her own set from back home. Still, she couldn't deny their effectiveness. One could conquer Thedas with such arsenal in their hands. Much more effective than  _gaatlok_ and that was already a revolutionary substance. No wonder everybody feared a qunari invasion.

"Trev, you got a sec?"

The templar looked over her shoulder to see a hesitant Shepard "Of course. What do you need?"

"The detour to the Broken Arrow gave me time to consider our new heading. I was thinking about granting Zaeed's request," the red-head sighed, "He's getting impatient and progressively grumpy. More than usual that is."

"Ok" Trev shrugged not seeing the issue.

"We can go to Illium after, right? We have just resupplied and Tali says she can arrange for that shield upgrade to be delivered there, just not right now. So it makes sense to go on Zaeed's mission first. Shadow Broker or no Shadow Broker. TIM sat on that info for sure so it can't be overly time sensitive"

Seeing the hopeful eyes Trev finally got what her friend wanted. She sighed, wondering just when she switched jobs – templars do not take confessions. "No, you're not being selfish. Liara's matter can wait. Your plan is sound."

Shepard smiled "Thank you."

"I assume you want to give the information to Liara personally"

"Of course, any transmission can be intersected. That's how the Shadow Broker makes his living after all"

"That does make sense" Trev nodded, "What is Zaeed's mission about? I hope this time we will be allowed to come along."

"In contrast to Samara, Zaeed will want as many as can come along. We'll be attacking a Blue Suns facility"

"Grunt will be happy" the blonde chuckled.

"He seems a bit restless lately" Shepard nodded, "As are you to be honest."

"You're not wrong" Trevelyan shrugged, "Me being here must be according to a plan, Maker's plan, yet you don't really need me. We are doing worthwhile work but I can't help but feel that something is missing."

"Maker's plan?" the commander asked with a touch of skepticism.

"Yes. I asked Miranda about the chances of Bifrost bringing me here – never before I head such a high number spoken. And that was before she corrected the numbers to accommodate the fact I arrived both alive and intact."

"I see"

"Besides, if there wasn't a reason, a plan, I'd go crazy"

"Ah" Shepard didn't mask her satisfaction well enough. A much better reason for an atheist such as the spacer.

"So, where are we going?"

"Zorya, in the Ismar Frontier. EDI said it is a jungle world, so expect mud and heat."

"I thought all our armors have something that regulates our internal temperature"

"Not the kind of helmet you wear"

/

The Normandy ground team was dropped quite a distance from the refinery that served as the base for the Blue Suns. Thanks to that they weren't noticed – both by the patrols and most importantly by their earth-air defense.

Zaeed took the lead and while they started their trek, he effortlessly tapped into the Blue Sun's communications. If he wasn't being so obsessive with his loudly proclaimed revenge plot, everybody would be quite impressed by his efficiency.

Thanks to him they took the first patrol outpost completely by surprise. The second was now prepared but it didn't really help them - each member of the team was deadly on their own but Shepard had worked hard to make them into a cohesive unit capable of steamrolling anything in their way.

They were nearly at the main building when the Blue Sun's chief finally realized the magnitude of the danger he was in and threatened all his subordinates – either they would kill the Normandy squad or end up corpses in turn.

"Charming fellow" Garrus remarked.

"Didn't change a bit. He always was a bastard" Zaeed rasped.

"How do you know him anyway?"

"None of your goddamn business"

"Should've told me earlier, I did some research" Kasumi chirped happily.

"Whatever" the old mercenary shrugged.

Taking it as a go-ahead, Kasumi grinned "Vido and Zaeed founded the Blue Suns together."

"Wait, what? Really?" Jack turned, quite impressed.

Zaeed sneered "That was a long time ago."

"Yup, about 20 years" the thief continued, "Then in the classic Kill Bill plot Vido backstabbed our friend here, shot him in the head and left him from dead. The killer bride here didn't die and swore vengeance."

"Call me a killer bride again and I'll give you an eye to match mine" Zaeed growled.

Garrus frowned "Kill Bill?"

"A really old vid"

"I love it. We could watch it later" Jack spoke up.

Everybody turned to her, unused to such enthusiasm. Shepard shrugged "Ok, we could do a movie night aboard the Normandy."

"Fleet and Flotilla!" Tali proposed brightly.

"Spirits no!" the turian shook his head vigorously, "It's so sappy I could cry."

"It's art!"

"How about we watch Suicide Squad? That is pertinent" Thane surprised everybody.

"You know old human vids?" Jacob arched an eyebrow.

"Only those based on comic books"

"You're a fan" the operative said in disbelief.

"I am"

"There is a comic book series about justicars too. Very popular with asari children" Samara hummed.

"Ain't that great" Zaeed interrupted, "How about we squash that bug Vido first. Oh, look over there! It might even be his evil lair!"

"No need for snark" Shepard shrugged, "We're going."

The team fell silent and cautiously approached the garage doors of the refinery. Vido Santiago himself lead the greeting party.

"Zaeed Massani. So you've finally tracked me down" the man in blue armor said with smug superiority, his men aiming from their elevated positions.

"Vido" the half-blind merc practically purred and raised his assault rifle.

"Don't be stupid. You make one move and you and the rest of the fools you took with you are history. I don't know what you are trying to accomplish, this can only end with me putting you down like the mad dog you are. Again" Vido chuckled.

"Guess again" Zaeed started shooting at the pipes that lined the entire garage while dashing to the side. The rest of his team moved with him, finding cover from both the Blue Suns.

It also helped with the massive blast that Zaeed caused. It seemed to shake even the ground under them but the squad was nonplussed, dispatching of the unbalanced mercenaries with quick efficiency. Alas, Vido had taken off as soon as he realized the situation changed.

"Aaand now the place is on fire" Kasumi sighed.

"You know this is a refinery, right mister Massani?" Miranda said tersely, "As it could've exploded on us?"

The man shrugged "The bigger boom could've taken Vido out. And we are right by the exit. Now come on, he couldn't have gotten far. The bastard's injured."

"I thought you hated being rushed" Garrus remembered the comment from the Collector's ship, "We're on a timer again. Well, if we want to get your man and live to tell the tale afterwards."

"We better hurry then"

"I agree, let's go" Shepard nodded, "Everybody be careful."

The Blue Suns were quick to react as well, coming at the team as soon as they stepped into the complex. It was clear Santiago surrounded himself with better than normal troops, commander's prerogative.

Everything was going according to plan until someone run out from a door a level over them. Thirteen barrels greeted the man who hastily threw his hands into the air.

"Unarmed civilian, stand down" Shepard ordered her squad.

"Please! You've got to help us!" the stranger plead, panic seeping into his voice, "We're trapped and this whole place is going to blow! Please!"

The majority of the group turned to Zaeed who just shrugged unrepentantly "They'll manage. We need to get Vido."

"NO! Please! We're going to burn if you don't get the valves!" the worker got even more agitated.

"Let's go" Zaeed shrugged again and opened the door that would lead them forwards.

Samara clasped his shoulder firmly and with a neutral voice asked "You would leave an innocent civilian to die a horrible death so you could get your revenge."

"Enough" Shepard growled, "We'll split up. That way we save the workers and the facility doesn't collapse on our heads."

"Whatever I'm going to get Vido" the yellow-clad mercenary growled and left thought the door.

"I will help the workers" Samara announced with a hard voice, practically daring Shepard to contradict her.

"I will go as well" Thane volunteered.

Trevelyan nodded "I'll be the third. We will protect them."

"Thank you" Shepard smiled. With a sigh she waved the rest of the squad with her "Let's get that piece of shit."

"You mean Vido or Zaeed?" Miranda said pointedly.

"Haven't decided yet"

When the majority of the squad left, the remaining trio turned to the worker who was practically melting with gratitude. He quickly briefed them on just how to save him and his colleagues.

As they took a different route than Shepard, Trev asked "You know how to initiate this extinguisher system and redirect fuel, yes? Because you know I do not."

"It won't be a problem" Thane reassured. A moment later he proved his claim as they needed to get thought a locked door. The assassin made quick work of it, even if he couldn't contest Tali or Kasumi's times.

It was no wonder the workers were trapped in, the entire floor was on fire. The trio had the advantage of having armor but still felt the oppressing heat. The mini-explosions that went off every once in a while weren't exactly reassuring either.

"This is it" Samara indicated the first of the pressure valves.

"Good because I see some of the workers" Trev said tensely and she looked over the railing. Not far from them there was a large glass window that provided them with a good view of several panicked men.

"Let's proceed then" Thane nodded.

They didn't get very far. Another explosion, this time bigger than before, caused part of the ceiling to come down, blocking them from going where the other valve could be found.

Fortunately Samara just scoffed lightly and lit up in blue energy, lifting the beam and debris out of the way. She held it and urged the rest to go though. As soon as they were in the clear, the justicar let her burden drop.

"Let's hope we find another way out of here" Trevelyan hummed as they quickly climbed the stairs to get to another floor.

"If we are successful, the refinery will be much more stable" Thane remarked.

"Just enough for everybody to leave. The building is doomed" the templar countered.

"Blue Suns" Samara alerted her team about company and biotically threw two of their enemies over the railing. Thane and Trev leveled headshots on the remaining three mercenaries, taking advantage of their flanking position.

As they got into the less burned part of the facility, where the security checkpoint was located, as well as the extinguisher system, Blue Suns got only more numerous.

Finally Thane pressed the button that should make it all go away.

"Did it work?" Trevelyan asked.

"I hear water rushing" Samara cocked her head to the side.

The drell assassin shrugged "Inefficient, but should be enough."

Soon the water could be heard clearly, along with the hissing sound of it hitting the flames. While only water rained over them, the fires that could be seen on the miraculously still functioning cameras were taken out much more swiftly.

Trev nodded to her left and tapped her earpiece "Shepard? We are done, the fires should not be a problem anymore."

" _Good work_ " the commander's voice replied with stoic calm, sure sign she was in a firefight right then.

"Orders?"

" _Try to find a way to the landing zone. We think Vido's heading there_ "

"Acknowledged"

Thane hummed when Trev got off the comm "Landing pad, hm? Shouldn't be too far from here. This was the main security checkpoint, it would make sense to have it near."

"The stairs that lead forward are badly damaged" Samara announced, "But we could float down with biotics."

"Again?" Trevelyan whined, "I'm sick of being the damsel that needs to be carried." Both Thane and Samara arched their eyebrows, causing the templar to cough awkwardly "Ok, let's go and get it over with."

After landing gently on the floor beneath them, the team proceeded forward much more slowly than before – the Blue Suns were invigorated by the lack of fire and came at them in waves. Although some of them evidently missed their previous conditions and came at them with flamethrowers. Those particular specimens received a very enthusiastic shield bash, courtesy of the templar.

Finally the trio found their way onto their destination. Shepard and the rest of the team were already there, as well as a big bonfire that fed on a now charred man. The huge shit-eating grin on Zaeed's face left no doubt on just who that corpse belonged to.

"Ah, just in time. I was beginning to worry" Shepard greeted the newcomers.

"We are uninjured" Thane reported, his eyes landing on the bleeding Jack, once more in her usual get-up rather than the armor provided to her, and Mordin whose coat was so charred it wasn't white anymore.

"We are a little worse off" the commander admitted, "Oh and Garrus almost got hit in the face by a rocket. Again. Honestly, I can't take him anywhere."

"You're just jealous Shepard" Garrus grinned, "Even the rockets want me. You need to deal with the fact I'm simply irresistible."

"I'll leave that dubious pleasure to you" Shepard shook her head.

"Smart. Now if we're done here" Miranda spoke up impatiently.

"Bored, cheerleader?" Jack taunted almost on automatic.

"The heat does nothing for my hair" the brunette deadpanned.

"I might be delirious from inhaling all that smoke, but that sounded suspiciously like a joke" Kasumi chuckled.

Grunt huffed "Lawson's alright."

Everybody turned to the krogan, waiting for more context.

"What?"

"Nothing, let's go"


	16. Stage Three - Bargaining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some more Chant of Light in this chapter

"You know, I thought this ship was meant to be the best. Top of the line. Yet we already upgraded the main gun and now Tali said she could get us new shields" Trev hummed as she fiddled with her black bishop, "Not to mention your own colleague has doubts about the ship's armor and has been looking for an upgrade."

Miranda shrugged "I wasn't part of the cell that reverse-engineered the Normandy. Though I would say it must've been difficult since most of Cerberus' money went into the Lazarus cell."

"Costly business, bringing people back to life"

"You can't even imagine"

"I still can't believe you did it. It should be impossible. Are you sure she wasn't only almost dead?"

The brunette chuckled "She was just a lump of flesh and bones. And a surprisingly well preserved brain. For all its faults, the Alliance makes good helmets."

Trev grimaced "Lovely imagery. Still, I would be interested in the science behind it."

"You would?" Miranda's jaw threatened to fall. Then she turned from surprised to skeptical "Really?"

"Indeed. Well, if you'd deign to use very small words and simple comparisons"

The scientist was hesitant but also faintly impressed, if the templar would stick it out that is. She nodded "Very well, I will try to explain. Later though, if you don't mind."

"Of course. Thank you. I imagine you have work to do with the new colony being hit" Trev nodded.

"Ferris Fields. No survivors this time" Miranda said sadly.

"Shepard isn't taking it well"

"We are simply not ready to take the Collectors yet, it is hardly her fault"

"With the delay between Ferris Fields and Horizon I'd say they will attack at least one more time before we venture thought the Relay"

"I don't think so" the XO shook her head, "I think they lost the cargo they got on Horizon when they played dead to lure us into their ship. Ferris Fields was attacked ahead of schedule to replace what was lost."

Trevelyan made a disgusted face "This  _cargo_  happens to be people."

"I know"

" _Operative Lawson_ " EDI spoke up from over head, " _Commander Shepard wishes to see you in her cabin to discuss the plan for Illium and our next course_."

Miranda nodded "I'm on my way."

" _Logging you out_ "

"Thank you EDI" the templar smirked.

" _You're welcome Trev_ "

The XO shook her head – not really seeing the purpose of being friendly with the shackled artificial intelligence. Or trying to teach her social graces. "I'm sorry to cut out match short."

"No problem. You leaving means you're conceding, ergo my victory. Which brings my score to 2 wins"

Miranda chucked "And how many losses?"

"Let's not worry about that."

* * *

Shepard strode purposefully towards Liara's office. This time no shore leave was scheduled – it was supposed to be a quick stop. Tali promised her that the shields will take much less time to install as she could do most of the work herself and out of dry dock. She also had Jacob stock up on everything – they had much to do but little time to do it, certainly not docking all the time to resupply.

"Seems Liara didn't find a new secretary" Garrus remarked with a chuckle.

The commander didn't dignify that with a response and tapped the door to announce her presence. A moment later the sign turned green and she walked in "Hello Liara."

"Hello Shepard," the asari greeted, "Garrus, Tali. What can I do for you?"

"This time I'm here to help you. Without terminal hacking" Shepard said with faint bitterness, "Here. This information should help you in your hunt."

"Against the Shadow Broker?" Liara's posture straightened and she snatched the chip. The squad was left forgotten as Liara studied intently the information on her omnitool. The Normandiers were starting to get uncomfortable when suddenly Liara exclaimed "Feron! He was capture alive!"

"How nice" Shepard mumbled.

"And with this information I could probably find out just where the Broker base is. This is amazing! Thank you Shepard!" Liara smiled widely.

The red-head practically melted "Of course. Do you need any help with it?"

"Actually I might" the asari hummed, "I need to contact my people and prepare. Meet me at my apartment before you leave."

"Ok, I will"

"This is truly wonderful. Two years plotting revenge and now I can turn it into a rescue mission!"

Shepard's smile dimmed "Yes, that is good news. Call me when you have something, we'll be leaving soon. We just need a few things this time."

"Of course. I'll call you" Liara nodded, her eyes back on the information on her omnitool, "I really can't thank you enough Shepard. But with this info, maybe I can. The Shadow Broker was working with the Collectors once upon a time after all."

The commander merely nodded. Taking it as the dismissal it was, her and the team left. Once back on the trading floor Shepard rubbed her eyes "If you want to wander the shops feel free, just be ready and on alert. I estimate we will be leaving tomorrow, so make it count. And no drinking."

With a chorus of aye-ayes most of the squad dispersed. Only Garrus, Miranda and Trev lingered but were sent away. Despite her own orders Shepard decided to camp out at the local bar for a while, after all, she couldn't get drunk anyway.

"Rough day?" the bartender arched an eyebrow when she fetched the commander's drink.

"Thank you Matriarch Aethyta. And yes, don't want to talk about it though"

"Suit yourself"

Several hours later Shepard was still at the bar, cursing her stone cold sobriety. At least until she got that call. She paid and brought up her contact list on her omnitool. With a short deliberation she called Miranda and had her fill her mandatory team numbers with Trev and Garrus.

The duo joined their commander by the taxi stand. "She called?" Garrus asked.

"Yes"

"That is quite soon. But that's good news, no?" Trev asked.

Shepard nodded "It is. We really need to get all our ducks in a row before the Collectors hit another colony."

"If TIM goes through with the IFF, it shouldn't be a problem" the turian reassured.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, it was clear Shepard wasn't really in the mood and her two friends respected that. That silence continued until they got to Liara's apartment.

"I-Sec? Not good" Garrus flicked his mandibles in worry.

"What is that?" Trev asked.

"The… ah, city guard?"

"Ah. Like your C-Sec"

"Yes"

An asari in uniform quickly stood up and tried to stop Shepard from coming into their crime scene. The commander just flashed her Spectre ID and barreled right through.

"Well, well. I did hear you got reinstated" a voice from the second floor interrupted Shepard's demands to be briefed on the situation.

The red-head looked up "And you are?"

"Tela Vasir, Special Tactics and Recon. I know your initiation was rushed, but not even knowing your colleagues…" Tela shook her head dramatically. Then she turned to the cops in the room "Thank you officers, you are dismissed."

"But you can't.."

"Just did. Under Spectre authority. You got even two of us here. Now go"

The remaining asari packed up and left with angry backward glances. Vasir didn't care in the last and addressed the commander once more "Someone tried to kill your friend, Shepard."

"Tried. Not succeeded?"

"No corpse here"

Shepard nodded, keeping her face smooth with no evident sign of relief "Good. Did you find a note or something? She was expecting me."

"I haven't found anything yet" Tela shrugged, "But you knew her better. You have a better chance."

"Fan out" the red-head nodded to Trev and Garrus while joining Vasir on the second floor of the apartment.

Once they were more or less out of hearing distance Garrus whispered "Vasir is pretty famous. After Saren, and of course Shepard, she's decidedly one of the top agents. I met her a few times during my C-Sec days. A pain in the ass, but frighteningly efficient."

"If she helps us to find Liara, she's welcome to be a bitch" Trev shrugged.

Garrus chuckled. Then he nodded to a nearby case "Check this out."

"A burnt set of armor?"

"N7. I think this is Shepard's original set"

"Maker" Trevelyan whistled under her breath, "That's a tad obsessive, isn't it?"

The turian was spared a reply as their commander came thumping to their floor, zeroing to the display case with Prothean artifacts.

"You found something?" Vasir perked up.

"A disc" Shepard nodded and the rest of her group and the asari converged on her position. They played the information without trouble and it gave them a possible location for Liara.

"Should be call the rest of our squad?" Trevelyan asked.

"Yes" the red-head nodded resolutely, "You do that. Vasir, you coming with?"

"You can bet on that, it is my case after all" Tela scoffed.

Shepard nodded again "Ok. Trev, call Miranda and tell her to meet us at the ground floor of Dracon Trade Center with everybody except Tali and Jacob if at all possible. Garrus, look up the layout or anything that might give us an edge."

"It shall be done"

"Aye Shepard"

"Cute minions" Vasir smirked.

/

"Commander" Miranda greeted when Shepard's squad and Vasir came out of the skycar, "We're here, ready and armed as ordered. Care to tell me why?"

Before Shepard could give her an answer, half the building exploded.

"Shit" the asari Spectre muttered, "They took out half the floors just to get two people. Those guys aren't messing around. Shepard, you go from beneath, I'll take the top. Keep on the comm."

"Good idea" the red-head nodded. When Vasir jogged back to the skycar, she turned to Miranda "Does this answer your question?"

"Yes. It does" the XO rolled her eyes.

"Let's go!"

The squad made their way into the building. The entrance hall was a mess and that was without mentioning the half-charred bodies. Some even had bullet wounds. Samara shook her head "Such pointless slaughter."

"It must've been the Shadow Broker's people" Garrus hummed, "Liara was getting close and he somehow caught wind of it."

"I agree" Miranda nodded, "This is a professional job – they disabled the security, the elevators, even the I-Sec alert. The Broker would fit."

The theory was confirmed at the first contact with their enemy. Excellent equipment, good training and unmarked armor. They moved like a well-oiled machine even under the annoying shower from the sprinkles triggered by the fire alarm. Also never hindered themselves when they used flash bangs.

"Annoying when it's done to you, huh?" Jack said to Kasumi as they had to shield their eyes.

The thief growled and unhooked a flash bang of her own "Yes. But I use them better."

"Less banter, more speed!" Shepard shouted at them.

"What crawled up her ass" the convict rolled her eyes.

"You do know her girlfriend was in the building when it went boom, right?"

"Whatever"

Finally they got onto the third floor. Shepard cursed at the devastation and took point, trying to find the right office. When a lone gunshot was heard from behind the most probable door, Shepard didn't hesitate to kick it in.

"Vasir" the commander breathed out, her eyes roving over the room. Three dead mercenaries and one civilian dressed salarian, also dead. "Is that Sekat?"

"It is. Have you found your friend's body?" the asari Spectre asked.

Nobody stood down, their weapons still pointed at Vasir – the lone shot was suspicious, given the three mercs' wounds. Shepard was evidently considering her response when the doors opened again.

"You mean this body?" Liara strode in, her pistol firmly aimed at the older Spectre.

"Oh thank god" Shepard breathed out.

"What's your problem T'Soni?" Vasir glared.

"Oh I don't know, maybe you trying to kill me?" Liara sneered, "I doubled back you see. So, how much is the Shadow Broker playing you?"

"You dare?"

Shepard nodded, everything finally made sense "You didn't know where Liara went so you needed us. That's why they attacked this building so fast, you told them. And now you have Sekat's data."

Vasir chuckled "Look at you, two years and your detective skills are still passable. Pity it's too late."

The asari Spectre suddenly threw herself backwards, through the glass of the window, her biotics wakening the material. She was already in the air when she used the same biotics to send the small pieces of glass towards Shepard's team.

While Liara and Samara formed a barrier to protect them, the commander herself ignored it and charged Vasir head on, causing both Specters to disappear over the ledge.

"Shit" Trev cursed Shepard's impulsiveness – if only Vasir was falling, a well aimed Smite would cancel the biotics and gravity would've taken care of the rest.

Both Liara and Samara jumped down as well – Liara didn't even look at Shepard and ran in pursuit of her target. Samara instead helped the human up.

"We need to get down. Let's go!" Miranda ordered the less biotically capable part of the squad towards the stairs.

Fortunately the plaza was somewhere they have been already so finding their way was rather easy. The hard part was the rushing wave of reinforcements the Shadow Broker sent to meet them. The few lone teams were nothing, but the additional time let the rest of the mercs turn the entrance hall to the trading center into a kill zone.

"This is useless, we need an advantage" Miranda huffed after trading fire with their enemy, not getting anywhere.

"I'm never leaving without a rocket launcher again" Shepard lamented, "Ok Grunt, you have a go."

The krogan grinned widely "I have permission?"

"Go nuts"

"Heh, heh, heh"

"Everybody cover him!"

Three separate barriers sprung around Grunt as he recklessly charged the nearest cover where the mercs were hiding behind. With a mighty roar he smashed right through. The rest of the squad targeted the mercs that scrambled out of the krogan's way.

"Awesome. Can I do it again?" Grunt grinned.

"Won't work for the second time. This time I'll be charging" Shepard shook her head, "Samara, can you reave the ones on the right?"

"Certainly commander"

"You're being reckless again, aren't you" Miranda sighed.

"Afraid for your handiwork?"

"Yes"

Shepard smirked and vaulted over her cover, immediately blurring in the vanguard's signature move. The ensuing biotic explosion let them know their commander had been successful. Problem was, there was no more cover as the previous one was a crater in the ground. Shepard had to charge again, this time back to safety.

The mercenaries seemed to have enough as well and three of them threw grenades at the team. Upon the warning Thane summoned up his biotics and threw them right back. That got the drell an enthusiastic thump onto his back, courtesy of a chuckling Jack.

In the end the fight was finished by Kasumi who decloaked behind the mercenaries that survived the grenades and shot them all though their visors.

"All clear" the thief announced cheerfully.

"Good work" Shepard barely acknowledged and stormed out of the building in search of Liara.

The two asari the team had been chasing were both pinned by the other's fire. Everybody was very impressed by Liara who managed to hold her own against the much older Spectre. Unfortunately their arrival caused just enough distraction to help Vasir escape by jumping onto a summoned skycar.

Liara immediately commandeered one for herself and made an irritated gesture to Shepard to come along.

"Trev, Miranda, with me!" the commander ordered as she jumped into the skycar's driver seat, "The rest of you follow!"

Once the foursome was in the car, Shepard closed the doors and floored the gas pedal.

"Oh Maker" Trevelyan whimpered when she spotted the traffic.

Shard ignored her "Trev, you're on her barrier and of any others that she might call. Miranda shields and detonation. Liara, you navigate, I can't see her."

"She took the right"

The skycar accelerated once more.

" _These truths the Maker has revealed to me:_ _  
 _As there is but one world,_  
 _One life, one death, there is_  
 _But one god, and He is our Maker._  
 _They are sinners, who have given their love_  
 _To false gods."__

"Is she praying?" Liara asked in confusion.

"She does that" Shepard shrugged.

"I just thought… truck! TRUCK!"

"I see it!"

" _Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him._ _  
 _Foul and corrupt are they_  
 _Who have taken His gift_  
 _And turned it against His children._  
 _They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones._  
 _They shall find no rest in this world_  
 _Or beyond."__

"SHEPARD!"

"I said I see it!"

" _All men are the Work of our Maker's Hands,_ _  
 _From the lowest slaves_  
 _To the highest kings._  
 _Those who bring harm_  
 _Without provocation to the least of His children_  
 _Are hated and accursed by the Maker."__

"She's dropping proximity charges"

"Does this thing have weapons?"

"It's a taxi! It has a fare meter!"

" _Those who bear false witness_ _  
 _And work to deceive others, know this:_  
 _There is but one Truth._  
 _All things are known to our Maker_  
 _And He shall judge their lies."__

"Truck!"

"Again?"

_"All things in this world are finite._ _  
_What one man gains, another has…"_ _

"MWEEHEEHEHAHA!"

…

"Shepard?"

"What, Vasir got hit" the red-head shrugged.

Liara squinted "Looks like she's making an emergency landing at the Azure."

"Does this mean the chase is over?" Trev asked faintly.

"Yes"

"Glory to the Maker!"

"Don't be a wimp" Shepard chuckled.

The templar shuddered "If the Maker wanted us to travel at such speeds, he would've given us wings."

"Or a mind smart enough to think up a machine that would fly instead" Miranda countered.

"True" Trev reluctantly admitted.

The Cerberus operative laughed lightly and patted Trev's armored thigh "You'll get used to it. And this is almost over."

Liara arched an eyebrow in the rearview mirror but didn't comment, just navigated Shepard to their target.

When they finally landed Shepard drew her shotgun and inspected Vasir's skycar "I see blood. She must be injured from the crash."

"Good" Liara said with deep satisfaction.

Vasir actually left a trail of blood for them to follow. It led them though several rooms and balconies, some _very_  interesting movie rooms, and finally into a large plaza.

They were close enough to the bleeding asari to hear the muttered "Shit!" but not close enough to prevent her from taking a hostage. Fortunately the rest of the civilians had the presence of mind to flee, leaving the five women alone in the plaza.

"Give it up Vasir!" Shepard shouted, keeping her fellow Spectre in the crosshairs of her off-hand pistol.

"No can do Shepard" Tela chuckled, "Now, how about you get lost or this pretty girl gets it."

The captive woman sobbed "Please, I have a son."

"Oh, she has a son! You wouldn't deprive a child of his mother, would you?"

"Vasir, darling" Shepard scoffed and made a minute motion to Liara, "Didn't you hear about a job called 'Spectre'? I head they are all about the greater good. What's one life in comparison?"

"What?" Vasir didn't have time to say anything more as Liara hit her with a biotically lifted table from behind. The hostage scrambled out of the way while Tela growled "You're going to pay for that."

The asari vanguard lit up with biotic energy and blurred into a charge. Whatever she was trying to do didn't account for a fully trained templar. The biotic power drained away almost instantaneously and Shepard, Miranda and Liara unloaded a full clip into Vasir's unprotected head.

There was a moment of silence and then Liara asked "Is she dead?"

"Liara, her head resembles ground meat" Shepard said patiently. The asari rolled her eyes and went to the body in search of the data disk that prompted the entire chase.

"This feels a little anticlimactic" Miranda remarked.

"I'll take it" the red-headed human shrugged, "Although it does feel like we evaded a boss fight."

"This isn't a game"

"Got it!" Liara stood up, disc in her hand.

Trev hummed "Good because reinforcements arrived. Both hers and ours."

"Once more unto the breach then"

/

The Shadow Broker's ship was really something. Shepard had prime view as she was hiding from Liara in the cockpit. They spoke after they set course to the Broker's base, but it only served to make Shepard sad. Fortunately Joker seemed to sense it and didn't insist on talking like he usually did. Instead he bantered with the AI, leaving his commander to think in peace.

"Sooo, we're here" Joker announced uncomfortably.

Shepard hummed absently. Then she sighed, unfolded her crossed hands and stood up "Good. EDI try scanning the ship, I want to know as much as we can dig out before we set foot on it. And alert the team to suit up. Even Jack - we'll be facing vacuum and the storm."

" _Yes, commander_ "

"Send it to my terminal, I'll be in my cabin"

EDI's avatar popped up again " _Doctor T'Soni has taken residence in your cabin_."

"Great" Shepard groaned, "Thank you for the warning EDI."

" _You're welcome_ "

In the end it wasn't so bad. Shepard got to dress in silence and the AI was swift with her findings which allowed her to call for the briefing. Since everybody showed up armed and ready, it didn't take long to assault the ship itself.

Unfortunately they had to make their way from the outside. It took two trips with the shuttle but in the end the entire squad was waking the hull of the massive ship, struggling not to look down into the frightening looking storm.

"I hope we find a hatch soon, I don't like this" Tali spoke up.

"Storm fascinating phenomena, wouldn't mind staying outside" Mordin disagreed.

"I'm in favor of inside as well" Trev shrugged, "It is a bit disorienting walking  _around_  the hull. I know this grav boots will keep me attached to the ship but it's still strange changing directions. But I admit it is rather fun as well."

"I know a guy who had his boots sabotaged" Kasumi interjected cheerily, "We almost didn't catch him."

Garrus chuckled "You keep the most interesting company if your stories are to be believed."

"Eh" the thief shrugged, "I hang out with criminals."

"I thought your policy was not to be known" Shepard remarked.

"Oh it is"

"Mechs!" Thane interrupted them with his warning.

The team fought another wave of synthetics. Soon enough the supply of mechs seemed to dry out and they had to fight real mercenaries. It was a slow process but they figured with the more guards being dead right now, there would be less people to fight on the inside. Besides, Miranda's devious mind had figured out a way to speed things along by firing at the lightening capacitors. Expedient, but not exactly pretty.

Finally they found themselves a hatch. Obviously it was closed, especially since it seemed it would lead somewhere important on the ship.

"Kasumi, can you open it?" Shepard deferred to their breaking in expert.

The thief whistled "I don't know, Shep. This is really heavy duty."

"Good thing I came prepared" Liara pushed them to the side and attached something to the doors.

"Explosives?" the commander frowned.

"Of course not," Liara shook her head, "An experimental and highly illegal bypass shunt program. I'm positive it can crack it but it needs time."

"How much time?" Miranda asked, already spying drones coming their way.

The asari shrugged and brought up her pistol again "I don't know. We'll just have to hold."

"If it works, I want it" Kasumi grinned.

"You said experimental" the Cerberus second in command frowned, "Did you test it?"

"No time like the present"

Shepard fired at another capacitor to stun the mercenaries around it and turned to the former archeologist "Such recklessness isn't like you."

"Actually it is. A recent development though"

"Of course" was the slightly bitter reply.

"Could this wait" Tali growled, changing the heat sink on her shotgun, "We are kinda in the middle of something urgent."

Shepard rumbled but refocused on the fight, more vicious than before. The Broker's mercenaries really didn't know what hit them.

"It's open!" Liara called after she checked her program's progress.

"What? No!" Grunt protested, "There are still many enemies here!"

"They'll be on the inside too" Trev consoled the krogan.

"Humph"

Shepard chuckled "Ok people, let's get inside. Zaeed, leave a nice surprise for them. Miranda, seal the door behind us."

Zaeed grinned, unhooking explosives from his belt and quickly disposed of their coverings. When everybody was inside he rasped "Fire in the hole."

The last thing they saw before the door was quickly closed was an inferno rushing towards the remaining mercenaries.

"Everybody ok?" Shepard asked.

"No injures it seems" Samara voiced.

"It was great. More fighting, please!" Grunt laughed.

"Careful" the commander cautioned, "We're in tight quarters now and we are too many people. Don't rush. Grunt you go first."

"Good call" Miranda murmured, agreeing the krogan would probably just ignore them and take off.

"He's getting a bit more krogan-y lately, isn't he?" Garrus remarked from his rear position.

Shepard grinned "My baby is growing up."

"Getting more  _skillz_?" Miranda smirked.

"You remembered!" the commander exclaimed in delight, her previous grumpiness forgotten.

"Hard to forget"

"Hello, turian out of the loop!"

"Hello, enemies incoming" Trevelyan interjected.

"Always butting in. Mercenaries those days, no sense of decorum" Shepard mocked.

"Hey!"

"Sorry Zaeed"

There were less soldiers inside the ship, but they could position better, making the fight no less easy. Still, they had a walking tank in their party, one all too eager to charge anything that moved and even a few things that didn't. It got so bad Shepard had to order Grunt in the back, letting him regenerate.

While their progress slowed, and Grunt got immensely annoyed, it didn't impact them all too much. It wasn't long and the team made their way to the prison block.

"Feron!" Liara exclaimed when the only prisoner on the ship was found.

"Hm, he's still alive" Miranda mumbled in surprise, getting a glare from Shepard.

"Hang on Feron, I'll get you out of here" Liara immediately appropriated the console.

"Wait!" Tali slapped the asari's hands away, "It's rigged!"

"To explode?" Jacob said in alert.

"No" the drell tied to the chair in the room below them rasped, "To give me a shock."

"Can you bypass it?" Liara asked their quarian tech expert.

"I'll need time"

"We're sitting ducks here" Shepard frowned.

"Anything you do to it will probably leave me dead" Feron interjected, "The system can only be manipulated when the power's out."

"We cut the power then" Miranda nodded.

Liara swore "According to the layout we can do that only form the central chamber."

"Let me guess" Shepard sighed, "That's the Shadow Broker's main office."

"Indeed"

"Let's go then" Shepard ordered the team out.

"Don't worry Feron, we'll get you out" Liara smiled at the drell.

The tortured man could only grimace "Just be careful"

"Where to?" the commander asked, her voice resigned more than anything.

Liara took the lead. The main chamber wasn't actually too far away - the Shadow Broker really took to heart the saying keep your enemies close.

When only a door separated them from their goal Shepard gripped her shotgun more tightly "Miranda, Trev, you go right behind me – overload or smite right off the bat. Liara, you do the barrier thing again if they fire at us. The rest of you follow. Grunt, you try not to get shot too much, we don't need to test those redundant organs of you yet."

"Humph"

"Ready?" Shepard stated rather than ask, "Three, two, one…"

The team stormed in. Or at least part of it – it seemed the Broker wasn't going to take it easy on them and activated a barrier just past the doorway. Shepard, Liara, Trev and Miranda were the only ones that got into the office, while the rest remained trapped behind the translucent obstacle.

On the other hand, no one was shooting at them. Only the Shadow Broker was in his office, sitting behind a large desk, obviously waiting for them.

"Hello, doctor T'Soni" the large alien greeted amiably, "Here for your friend? Reckless, even for you, doctor. But thank you from bringing such interesting people with you, they will fetch quite a prize. Subject Zero, Okeer's project or the anomaly to our universe witch fascinating powers against biotics, just to name a few."

"You won't lay a hand on anyone!" Liara growled.

"It's pointless to challenge me asari. I know your every secret while you stumble in the dark" the Broker boasted in his deep voice.

"Oh really?" Liara smirked, "You're a yagh, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave… or a  _pet_."

Silence reigned until… "That's hot" Shepard breathed out, quite impressed. Miranda and Trev rolled their eyes.

The yagh didn't seem to think so. He stood up, revealing himself to be a giant. The Normandy team took an instinctive step back when he towered over them by quite a margin. Now the overly-high ceiling made sense, not just a decorator's choice.

With a low growl that escalated into a roar, the Broker smashed his fist into his table and then threw the chunks onto his enemies.

The foursome rolled away, only Miranda getting clipped by a stray piece. Once taking cover behind the pillars the XO cursed "Extra-strong shield, lots of armor and I think yagh regenerate as the krogan do."

"Don't forget the Revenant" Shepard pointed out the over-sized assault rifle the Broker was holding.

Trev glanced at the doorway, noticing the rest of the team was still locked out. With a sigh she started the work on the shields – her ability with overload was limited but the yagh was a very big target.

"Don't let him pin you!" Shepard exclaimed after the Broker showed signs of charging.

True to the order, the four women, or three and an asari, kept changing positions, keeping the massive figure between them to prevent him from focusing on just one person.

"Shields down!" Miranda called.

"Good" Shepard was prepared just for this moment and pointed her rocket launcher at their enemy. She said it earlier on Illium, she was never again leaving without her trusty heavy weapon.

Three rockets impacted in quick succession, staggering the Broker. He growled and his hand skimmed his belt. Suddenly a weird-looking barrier sprung around him.

"He isn't moving. Why isn't he moving?" Trev shouted her question.

"I don't know! But it will allow him to regenerate shields, maybe even some armor" Miranda frowned.

Liara resigned on firing at it "The shield is kinetically sensitive. All energy and projectiles are useless!"

"How about old-school?" Shepard hummed.

"What's that?"

"Melee"

"On it!" Trevelyan perked up considerably and rushed the Broker, landing a truly frightening punch, immediately followed by a flurry of more.

The yagh dropped the barrier but Trev didn't relent, hitting him over and over again with a slightly manic look on her face. She was just about to do it again when the Broker activated a familiar piece of equipment, an omni-shield, and batted her away.

"Trev!"

"I'm alright!" the templar quickly rolled behind a pillar.

"You're bleeding" Shepard said in worry.

"My helmet is gone and he broke my nose" Trevelyan admitted, "Not the first time that happened."

"His shields are back to full force" Liara reported, "And with the omni-shield in play we have to flank him."

"I wish Kasumi was here, her cloak is really handy" the commander sighed.

Miranda tsked "We need a plan, he can repeat this routine but we're out if he gets one good shot in."

"I want to try something" Trev spoke up.

"Really?"

"What, I can have a plan too"

"Concentrate on shields first!"

"They're down!"

The Broker turned so his omni-shield faced Shepard, rendering the rockets useless. Fortunately the warp, from both Miranda and Liara, had the same effect, if not more devastating.

He brought up his secondary protection once more, bullets bouncing off his skin. Trevelyan ignored Shepard's shout and this time her charge ended with her hopping onto the Broker's back, repeatedly stabbing him with a metal rod that must've come from the destroyed desk.

This time the Broker dropped his barrier almost immediately, the metal really hurting him. He shrugged off Trevelyan and nearly squashed her with his massive boot. Trev brought up her own omni-shield and powered though, waiting for her comrades to give her an opportunity to escape.

"What were you thinking!" Miranda shouted when the templar was back in cover.

"It worked!"

"You have no helmet and he nearly kicked your head off" Shepard shouted angrily.

"He didn't get the chance!" Trev countered, "Oh and next time, I'm bringing my sword! You said it was useless but I sure could use it right about now."

"If we survive this, I'll get you the best asari biotic sword I can find" Liara called.

"I don't have biotics"

"That's not why it's called that"

"Oh. Thanks then"

"I have an idea" Miranda interjected.

"Oh boy"

"Mine is far better than Trevelyan's" the XO huffed, "I need him to bring back that stationary barrier. And this time don't go near him! You hear me Trev!"

"I hear you"

"Good"

"He's charging!"

"If he continues he'll bring this place down"

For the third time the shields were brought down and armor weakened. The Broker heard everything the squad shouted at each other but he had no other alternative than bringing his regenerative barrier up again.

Miranda summoned all the biotic energy she could muster and targeted the electrified liquid overhead. Its purpose wasn't really evident but now it was indispensable.

The tank broke. The liquid rained onto the static Broker and it interacted with the barrier. Interacted badly.

An inhuman scream emanated from the yagh and then suddenly it all blew up, sending the team into the walls with much force. When they looked up, the yagh was in fine pieces.

"Is… is it safe to go?" Trev coughed.

"The liquid is evaporating"

"I think it was coolant, so it might short the power" Miranda.

As if on cue the ship went dark for a handful of seconds. Then as power was rerouted though a different channel, everything went back online.

The barrier on the door vanished and the door itself opened, letting the rest of the team in. Also with them in control of the ship's systems Feron would be free once more.

They had done it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So DLC Lair of the Shadow Broker. Loved that one, especially the skycar conversation *grin*


	17. Stage Three - Bargaining

"Hello scrapper" Kasumi grinned and plopped in the seat in front of the templar with her breakfast.

Trev felt she should protest at the nickname but she was actually still rather pumped from when the fight turned into hand-to-hand. Even if it was just for a moment. She really missed it. The metallic clang of armor against armor, sword against sword. She liked her omni-shield just fine but it just wasn't the same.

"You zoning out on me?"

"My apologies" Trevelyan inclined her head, "Simply enjoying the meal."

"The Broker had some nice rations, that's true" the thief inspected her own plate, "Definitely better than our usual fare."

"I don't think they were the Broker's per se, he struck me more as a raw meat and guts kind of man. Then again appearances can be deceiving"

Kasumi chuckled "I looked up his species, appearances weren't deceiving in that regard. The yagh are actually pretty frightening – excellent adaptability and high intelligence. Only matched by their blood-thirstiness."

"How come they didn't reach the stars yet?"

"Too busy eating each other I'd say" the thief shrugged, "But how cool is that we know the Shadow Broker, huh?"

Trev hummed "Shepard didn't seem all too thrilled."

"Well, yeah. Her ex is now the most powerful being in the galaxy"

"So it seems"

"You should talk to her"

"It is rather late, we should be going" Trev agreed, "EDI, is the commander here or she went to talk to Liara again?"

" _Commander Shepard is in her cabin. Operative Lawson has already inquired about our new destination, but her message was ignored_ "

"See, she needs our resident priest"

"I'm not a priest"

"A friend is better anyways"

Trevelyan couldn't really say anything to that and gulped down her tea. She waved to the thief and returned the tray to Gardner. With a sigh she made her way to the elevator – she really wasn't the best at this and she understood Shepard might want to have some time to process. Alas they were short on time.

When the elevator doors opened at the captain's floor Trev noted a very annoyed Miranda kicking the door to the room proper with a huff. The templar arched an eyebrow, silently amused "Trouble?"

"What does it look like?"

"Like both Shepard and EDI are keeping you out?" the blonde dared smirk.

"Tuchanka!" there was a shout from within that surprised both women, "We're going to Tuchanka. And now please go away so your presence doesn't attract Chambers!"

"Well, if you insist on behaving like a five year old maybe you should have a sit-down with her!" Miranda huffed but turned to leave, "You coming Trevelyan?"

"No, I'll do the friend duty since Garrus and Tali don't seem to step up"

Miranda shrugged and let the elevator close behind her. Trev face the doors which to her surprise immediately flashed green and opened. Shepard was directly on the other side, looking a bit disheveled. The templar arched an eyebrow and tried to inconspicuously look behind her.

"Liara is not here if that's what you're thinking" Shepard chuckled bitterly, "In fact I think we're officially over. Well, it has been over for two years but I only now caught up."

"Ah"

"I just stupidly got my hopes up when the Broker info arrived. But hey, now I know for sure and I can focus on the Collectors"

"Ok"

"No, really" the red-head assured, "It was more the Cerberus thing now – Liara gave me back my old Alliance dog tags. Apparently they were quite a collector item. You know, when this mission is over I'm going to give myself up. That's not going to be fun. At all."

"What is going to happen to you?"

"I have some pull and I know people high up that believe in the Reaper threat. They will probably lock me up until the Reapers show up" Shepard shrugged trying to nonchalant about it, "Of course there might be others trying to silence me or plainly take revenge so it might never reach that point."

"You clearly put some thought into it"

"I wasn't just sulking here you know"

"You could've sulked on the way to Tuchanka"

"Wanted to wait just in case Liara needed something"

"Hm"

"She found some more mercenaries hiding out on the ship but they were no trouble. She's really taken to this Shadow Broker thing very quickly. And with much gusto" Shepard said with surprising neutrality.

Trev hummed "She does remind me of a less experienced Leliana."

"I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not"

"Wouldn't really know. I only knew her five years"

The vanguard snorted "Gotcha. Isn't it sad I never got too along with Alliance Intelligence types? Now Liara is one."

"I thought the Specters were too" Trevelyan smirked.

"Damn! You're right!" Shepard laughed.

"So, Tuchanka?"

"Mordin's apprentice has been kidnapped and held there, plus Grunt has been having some issues. I promised I'd ask an older krogan about it"

"Wise, he's been getting more and more reckless," Trev frowned, "I like him, wouldn't want something to happen for a stupid reason like a hot head."

The commander chuckled "Hot head practically equates krogan."

"I heard about the head butts"

"Practically krogan hello" Shepard smirked.

Trev chuckled "I recommend a good helmet if we're going to Tuchanka then."

"I asked Jacob for a spare, I'm not ruining my lucky helmet"

"Lucky helmet?" Trevelyan arched an eyebrow.

"Don't judge"

/

"This, this is Tuchanka? The land Okeer's imprint spoke of. The land of past battlemasters?" Grunt huffed while looking around.

"Don't sound so disappointed" Shepard said cheerily, "It's not so bad. The rubble makes for an interesting décor but I rather like it."

"I hope you're joking" Miranda arched an eyebrow.

"Not really. We should totally redecorate the Normandy"

EDI hailed them on the comm " _Shepard, the logs of chief scout mention the presence of a lone salarian, matching doctor Solus' apprentice. Recommend talking to chief scout or chief Urdnot._ "

"Thanks EDI, you're a pal. Hey, chief Urdnot is Wrex, right?" the red-head asked.

"You're just asking now?" Garrus sighed, "You know turians aren't exactly welcome here with open arms."

"I think Mordin might distract them from you" Tali chuckled.

"Would gladly help. Apprentice first though" the salarian chuckled.

"That is nice, seeing I get the distinct feeling we are not exactly popular here" Trev commented dryly.

"What was your first clue?" Miranda glanced at the increasing number of krogan following them with interest and not a little blood-lust.

Finally they were herded to the large room that had to be the assembly hall slash throne room. Shepard grinned widely when she confirmed just who was in that chair. Just before they tried to get though the crowd to Wrex, another krogan approached them.

"Ser Trevelyan?"

"Yes?" the templar looked up at the alien and answered cautiously.

The krogan nodded towards a shop to their right "I have a sword for you. A friend of yours already paid. Also I have been asked me to tell you that it is a bit on short notice, but that the sword should be adequate."

Noticing the slightly insulted tone of the finish Trevelyan smiled congenially "I am sure it will be more than adequate."

"Damn right" the krogan showed his teeth in a parody of a smile.

"Just to be clear, what kind of sword it is?"

"A salvaged asari biotic sword. In excellent condition, cared for and repaired by me"

Trev shared a look with Shepard – both having no doubts who the 'friend' was. A certain asari Broker. It was a nice thought, even if disturbing implications.

The team made the detour to the shop, deciding against splitting the team on the borderline hostile planet. Finally they went right for the large throne that was made out of large pieces of rubble. It seemed rather fitting.

"Shepard! My friend!" Wrex immediately noticed the human leading the party and waved them though, thrilled to see them, "You look well for dead."

"You look well too, _chief_  Urdnot" the vanguard grinned.

Wrex puffed up "It has been going well. And soon the krogan will be one people once more. I'll drag them to glory whether they like it or not."

"You have much opposition?"

The old krogan chuckled "We are a stubborn people."

"No shit. Who was it you just headbutted?"

"Uvenk. A pain in my ass. But he doesn't matter, what brings you here? And I see you brought some familiar faces along too" Wrex smiled, the effect much more frightening than with other species, "Hello little Tali."

"Ehem"

"Oh, Garrus, didn't even see you there" Wrex jokingly taunted.

The turian shrugged dramatically "And here I thought my new scar would be a hit on Tuchanka."

Wrex let out a loud bellowing laugh, many of his subjects turned to them but then looked away without much interest. Only a few stares lingered. Then there was one old krogan that huffed impatiently. Wrex sighed "We must catch up but now it seems my appointment has arrived. How long do you intend to stay here?"

"Mordin here want to look for his apprentice that has been spotted nearby, we were thinking of asking your chief scout" Shepard hummed, "And I wanted to ask about Grunt here. He's been getting a tad restless and out of control."

Wrex turned to the Normandy's own krogan and asked "Where are you from whelp? Was your clan destroyed before they could teach you?"

"I have no clan" Grunt said with no fear, "I was tank-bred by warlord Okeer. I am pure krogan, by bloodline distilled from the greatest to come out of Tuchanka. I am destined to follow in their footsteps."

"You boast but you have nothing to your name, you are a product of a syringe" Uvenk, who now returned with an entourage spoke up with a sneer.

"What of Okeer?" Wrex asked instead.

"Dead"

"Of course, you travel with Shepard after all" the krogan chief laughed, "But you're a mere whelp. You haven't passed your rite yet but you smell ready enough."

Shepard frowned "Rite?"

"To become full adult"

Garrus sighed "And let me guess, it's something very bloody. Because getting a lap dance on Omega would never be enough for krogan, right?"

Wrex grinned "Right. He can do that after."

"You want to offer him the Rite?" Uvenk bellowed, "Too far, Wrex! Too far. This thing is not krogan!"

"Get lost" his leader rolled his eyes and waved him away. Uvenk huffed but stomped out of sight. The Wrex turned his attention back to Grunt "Shepard sees something in you and I will give you a chance to prove what. What do you say? Do you wish to stand with Urdnot? Be a true warrior?"

Grunt's gaze paused on Shepard and then encompassed the room full of his people. He straightened up "It is in my blood. It is what I am for."

Wrex grinned "Good. Speak with the shaman. Impress him and he'll set you on the path."

"Thanks Wrex" the red-head nodded, "We'll stop by again, hopefully you will be less busy."

The krogan snorted in amusement and eyed the not so very orderly line behind his guards. He shrugged "I will make time for you my friend. You especially Tali, I want to see how much you improved your shotgun skills. Your turian side-kick is welcome too I guess."

"You wound me Wrex" Garrus chuckled.

Once the team was clear of the mass of bodies waiting around the throne, Shepard turned to Mordin "Perhaps we could do Grunt's Rite first? I don't trust that Uvenk not to try to sabotage him. Plus we might be impressive enough to have an easier time here."

Mordin shrugged "Maelon captive already. His fate won't change."

"Cold" Garrus commented but didn't seem overly scandalized.

The team had made their way to the resident shaman. Unsurprisingly when they asked for directions, they were sent the exact way their new friend Uvenk had left. Even more unsurprisingly the krogan protested vehemently to Grunt's initiation.

Shepard dealt with the problem the krogan way, the way that resulted in cracking her spare helmet. The shaman was  _delighted_.

"So, how about it Grunt?" the commander asked, "Your krantt. Who do you want? It's your show but you know my rule."

"Minimum of three" the young krogan grinned, "But no more, I want to show them just what a pure krogan can do."

Shepard sighed "Good thing I brought heavy weapons."

"If you don't outnumber your enemy, out-gun them?" Garrus turian-smirked.

"Precisely" the red-head's eyes twinkled, "So, Grunt, choose. I am sure anybody of our team would gladly  _volunteer_. Oh, and I am going for sure."

"Haha, of course! Wouldn't want you to miss it!" Grunt laughed, "Lawson, how about we show the might of the tank-bred?"

Miranda was shaken from her inspection of their surroundings and turned to the grinning krogan. She arched an eyebrow, ignoring the curious looks of the rest of the squad "You sure you want to risk me overshadowing you?"

"A challenge! That's the spirit" Grunt exclaimed gleefully.

"At least another one Grunt" Shepard reminded, "Consider more."

"Trevelyan has a new sword" the krogan hummed, "We could test it in the field."

Trev nodded "I am honored, I will stand by you in your Rite."

"Anyone else?"

"We will be enough"

"Alright" Shepard sighed and then turned to the rest of the squad "I have no idea how long this is going to take, so you three speak with the scouts about Maelon, but don't move in on him before we get back."

"Ok" Garrus nodded, "Just don't get eaten by anything."

"It  _is_ Tuchanka"

"Precisely"

/

"So we just press the button and wait?" Shepard hummed as soon as the shaman and his crew closed up the latch behind them, leaving the Normandy squad alone on a very desolate plane.

Miranda shrugged "I imagine the mechanism will attract much of the local wildlife."

"That doesn't sound so bad" Trev shrugged, "The Harrowing seems much harder in comparison."

"What's that?" Grunt asked.

"The Mage's test, to see if the apprentice can defeat temptation. It is also a test of intelligence and willpower. The mage is set against a demon who will try to possess him."

"I like straight up killing better" the krogan shrugged and brought his fist down on the keystone.

"Grunt! We're not set up yet" Shepard growled

"We'll manage"

"Damn macho men"

Despite Shepard's aggravation Grunt was right – they did manage. The first wave was rather easy too. Varrens were quite common to the planet – sure they were fast and vicious, but if you managed to get them at distance they were no trouble.

Grunt was rather disappointed at first but then the animals started to come in more and more numerous. Soon they had to resort to biotics, and in Trev's case her brand new sword, so they won't be overrun.

In a surprising turn of event, it was Ser Trevelyan who was enjoying the Rite the most. When the first of the varrens came close enough and her rifle needed reloading, Trev dropped the gun and repelled the animal with a mighty swing of her shield. When the varren came right back she slashed him with her new sword. The varren whimpered and fell, dead.

Trev erupted in deep and loud laughter, and charged the next animal.

"Hmm, you alright Trev?" Shepard shouted from her own mountain of varren corpses.

"Never better!"

"Yeah, that's a bit disturbing to be completely frank"

Grunt laughed "She's doing it right, it's you two who need to let loose!"

"For reference, I like quiet nights with a book much more than shooting rabid fauna" Miranda spoke up.

"Come on Lawson, you can't say this isn't exciting"

"Seems we are at the last one" Shepard commented, bringing back the attention to the situation at hand.

"MINE!" both Grunt and Trev shouted in unison and ran towards the poor pup.

Miranda shook her head in rather fond exasperation "Children."

"Really violent children" the commander chuckled, "Ok team, reload, patch yourself up if needed. Then, and only then, we press the button again."

Trevelyan used the break to collect her rifle and reload it, then clean up her sword. Then she took out her canteen to drink up. Tuchanka reminded her of the Exalted Plains, dry, war-ravaged and in ruins. And very, very warm. Especially in heavy armor – many of her less wise colleagues got heatstroke or just plain sunburn.

"Good idea" Miranda nodded and made a motion for the canteen to be passed to her – she was once more wearing her white not-really-armor. Definitely no place for much equipment.

"Any guesses on what we are fighting next?" Trev asked when she passed the water.

"Can be anything" the brunette shrugged, "I just hope the one thing it can be, won't."

"Ready for the next wave?" Shepard asked.

Grunt practically hopped with excitement "About time. Let's hit it!"

Trev shrugged and Miranda answered for both of them "We're ready."

"Here it comes then"

For a few moments nothing happened, just as before. Then a few winged creatures appeared but did not attach. They did deposit some other animals on the ground though.

"Klixen" Miranda informed, "Don't charge them! They explode when their death is assured."

Trev grunted with disappointment "Any other tips?"

"They breathe fire"

"Great"

Shepard chuckled "No nostalgia about dragons?"

"Not really, no"

This second wave of the right was much more difficult than the first, especially since melee was discouraged. Also klixen seemed more intelligent than the previous varrens, causing the team to move around if they didn't want to be herded into the jaws of death. Or pincers more like it.

The explosions were unsettling but most of them occurred at a good distance, but soon as the harvesters kept popping up, they got closer and closer as their numbers increased.

"This isn't working, soon we will be out of ammunition" the templar commented.

"I agree, we need to conserve some for the final round" Miranda nodded as she biotically threw one of the injured klixen to explode on his friend, taking them both out.

Shepard checked her own clips "Right."

"Let's just charge them" Grunt shrugged.

"I brought plenty of grenades this time" Trev gave a counteroffer.

The commander nodded "We need them in one place. I could also blast them with a heavy, but I'd rather save it for a rainy day."

"You brought a single-shot with you. To Tuchanka" Miranda shook her head.

"Most things here consider a rocket a mere tickle. So I upgraded" Shepard shrugged.

"You all talk too much" Grunt huffed.

"Alright, herding duty!"

It took quite a bit of running and four grenades but the kamikaze crabs were no more, leaving behind charred ground.

"Well, glad that's over" Shepard commented jovially.

Trev nearly slipped when she stepped onto a piece of dead klixen and grimaced "Me as well."

"Don't forget the third round" Miranda did her best to spoil the mood.

Not that it would work on Grunt "Heh, heh, heh."

"Let's take stock" Shepard ordered. Their supplies were getting dangerously low and there was still one round to go. Fortunately during their running routine they stepped over several dead krogan, victims of previous rites, and some had not been properly frisked and might have useful things left behind.

Their scavenging wasn't as successful as they hoped but better than could be realistically expected. Finally they stood before the keystone once more.

"Everyone good?"

"Just press it already" Grunt rolled his eyes at Shepard who did the same in turn and pressed the keystone.

It took a while, longer than it did before. Finally it started with a faint tremor that escalated into a near earthquake. Then their prey revealed itself.

"A thresher maw" Shepard breathed out.

"A thresher maw!" Grunt repeated, but with much more enthusiasm.

Miranda sighed, she had been half-expecting it. She turned to the templar "Trevelyan?"

"Yeah?" Trev said absently, her jaw still hanging loose from the sheer size of the creature that had them in its crosshairs.

"No sword on this one either"

"I gathered"

"Just saying"

"Thanks"

"Okay people, enough gawking, let's go!" Shepard spurred them to move.

"Can we even kill this thing?" Trev was still stuck.

The commander grinned and drew her heavy "Oh yes we Cain."

Grunt, Miranda both rolled their eyes at the pun, Trev was out of the loop as usual concerning local technology.

"Didn't you kill dragons?"

"Those I know. This thresher maw I don't. And I don't like when I can't see my target"

"Yeah, they like to travel underground"

"And spit acid" Miranda chimed in.

Shepard nodded "Keep shooting it, we need it occupied. The Cain has only one shot."

The thresher maw proved to be quite elusive, burrowing itself and trying to catch them off guard. Trev unhooked all her remaining grenades and used them to wound the creature even if its armor prevented much of the damage. Her last one had been aimed at its mouth but the maw batted it away.

Following the templar's example Miranda biotically lifted the sharper pieces of rubble around them, throwing it, trying to get the eyes.

Grunt was their main distraction, completely unafraid of going close.

"Ok.. ok… almost.."Shepard muttered as she took aim, "Gotcha!"

The commander aimed center mass rather than risk missing completely. The maw registered the imminent threat but could only sway its body to the side. Not fast enough.

The light was near blinding. Everybody quickly turned away and shielded their eyes. The loud keening sound was almost pitiful if not for the acid rain that had threatened them before.

Grunt was the first to look back "It's still alive."

"Tough cookie" Shepard whistled and looked for herself, "Badly injured. We can finish this."

The tank-bred krogan didn't need any more encouragement and ran towards the near-shredded maw, mostly devoid of armor now. He shot an entire clip of shotgun rounds and when the creature didn't do much in retaliation he leapt on it, continuing the job on its head. Not to feel left out, Miranda, Trev and Shepard joined him by the dawned thresher maw.

"Ok, I think that's enough" Shepard determined.

Miranda made a disgusted face "Indeed, its already dead. Now you're just making a mess."

Grunt relented and hopped down from the corpse. He grinned widely and shouted for all to hear "Good battle! And a glorious victory!"

"I concur" Trev smiled fondly, "It was quite the hunt. One worthy of Thedas."

"You people do this often?" Miranda arched an eyebrow.

"Not really, at least I. But after the Inquisition formed it became much more frequent" the templar shrugged but then turned very serious, "We usually 'hunted' people rather than beasts. Often those two categories overlapped though. Those were the worst kind of assignments."

Shepard nodded tightly "Yes. I had a similar experience in some N7 missions." The commander's elation about their victory was completely gone and her mood turned somber. She turned her gaze to Miranda, or more precisely the logo on her uniform, eyes suddenly filled with hate.

"Commander?" the brunette stood her ground, but her discomfort was easily perceivable. Even though her 'perfect' poker face.

"We are finished here, let's get Grunt his well-deserved surname" Shepard changed the subject and turned to leave.

They didn't go far.

Gatatog Uvenk evidently came to cause trouble, but he didn't count on a very pissed Spectre. The red-head  _tore_  though the squad of krogan he brought with him, her squad aiding her only marginally. She flashed from side to side, leaving only a light blue blur behind her, clipping an enemy each time.

When the biotic detonations died down and everything was quiet again, Grunt commented proudly "I love this planet."

"Let's just go home" Shepard sniffed derisively, "I want a shower."

"That sounds lovely" Trevelyan said lightly.

/

Mordin had been very understanding and suffered through a krogan party after the slaying of the thresher maw instead of insisting on his apprentice's rescue. His turn came the morning following the festivities - Shepard had strictly regulated their alcohol intake, which allowed her to take the entire ground team into Weyrloc territory. It also meant the true party for Urdnot Grunt, at least where the Normandy crew was concerned, was held after they returned from that disastrous mission.

To cheer up everybody from the mutilated corpses, not only krogan but human as well, Shepard organized a party of her own. She called it 'getting myself a padawan' party, which prompted a watching of a very, very old vid as entertainment for the evening. Oh and Gardener even baked a cake.

As this time they were allowed to drink, Trev was staring down her own glass of liquor, lost in thought.

"Not enjoying the party?" Miranda asked.

The templar looked up and shrugged "I feel a bit homesick, that is all."

"Ah"

"It's not only the fact I got to once more use a sword and a shield, but also the Maelon mission. Walking though that hospital was like walking though a lair of a blood mage" Trev frowned, "The stanch of death nearly integrated into the stone walls, the silent screams, the souls of the dead. And at the end someone who is genuinely convinced he's done nothing wrong."

Miranda stayed silent for a beat and then hummed "At least the data might help cure the genophage some time in the future. I think most of the victims gladly gave their life for that hope."

"Yes, the genophage. A barbarity. And to think Mordin…" Trev said in a hard voice.

"Each world has some things that were necessary yet are horrendous. Do not tell me that Harrowing I asked you about is somehow more humane" the brunette pointed out.

Ser Trevelyan looked down "It pains me I can't readily disagree. And I still haven't told you that many mages rather than face the Harrowing, chose to be made Tranquil."

"Tranquil?"

"EDI compared it to… lobotomy? Yes, that was the word. The mage survives, yet he isn't really _there_ " the noble said bleakly, "A horrifying practice. I would rather die myself if given the choice."

Miranda's eyes widened "Lobotomy? You practiced lobotomy?"

"A tranquil mage cannot be possessed by a demon or even perceived by one. All connection to the Fade is severed in the process" the blonde explained, "Some mages are more sensitive and have torturous dreams. Some choose not to deal. In other instances it is used when the mage is out of control – either can't control his own magic or doesn't wish to do so. It is regarded as mercy."

"You don't agree"

"I don't. Also, all too many mages have been made tranquil without enough thought or effort to rehabilitate. Not even my brethren can deny human nature. The lazy, the malicious, the easily manipulated, the sadists… no organization can escape them, no matter how meticulous the screening" Trev said sadly. Then her eyes got a manic gleam and sadness was forgotten "I relished in assisting Cassandra root out corruption when she needed someone to go with her. Templars are meant to protect yet some break the oath they took, consciously or not. When they cross the line, the Seekers are called you see." Trev was shook herself from the memories and turned to face Miranda "Cerberus is in dire need of Seekers too."

The operative was completely taken by surprise by the sudden zealotry and the direction their conversation turned, so she just nodded imperceptibly on reflex.

Trevelyan, quite satisfied, nodded to herself and went to refill her glass.

Miranda frowned as she watched her go, trying very hard not to picture young David Archer hanging from his machine. Maybe some supervision wasn't such a bad idea.


	18. Stage Three - Bargaining

Trev frowned at her cards. She briefly wondered just how her plea for a chess opponent who wouldn't whoop her ass ended in learning a new game. Skyllian Five, apparently, was a  _must_  know in this universe. Even EDI confirmed it. Something like Wicked Grace – both in popularity and in rules.

"So I noticed you getting close to Miranda" Shepard commented lightly while glaring at one card in particular.

"Hm"

"Just saying, she's Cerberus"

"I'm well aware" the templar frowned, "It is hard to forget that."

"Good" the red-head nodded decisively, but then actually hesitated, "To be honest though, I do think that Overlord shook her and that after the Collector ship she got easier to get along with. Still, the first time we met she flat out told me she would've liked a control chip in me."

Trev looked up sharply "What?"

"Yup. Just something to keep in mind if you want to romance her"

"What!" the tone became even sharper, "We're  _friends_. Not so sure about even that. As you said, she's Cerberus. She's just interesting."

"Interesting. Of course. My bad then"

"I don't like that tone" Trev huffed petulantly.

Shepard smirked "Yeah, because you know your bullshit."

"Miranda is attractive, there is no denying that, but it would be most unwise even if you were right about my intentions" the templar said stiffly.

"You know, Liara has mentioned that Miranda seemed quite mellow in your interactions during the Shadow Broker hunt"

"Weren't you just trying to dissuade me from my possible romance?"

"I am a deeply complicated person"

" _Commander_ " EDI interrupted, " _Operative Lawson wished to remind you that according to the information attained from the Blue Sun base we will be passing a site of a possible prothean artifact._ "

"Speak of the devil" Shepard smirked, "EDI, do you know why she's telling us this and not her Illusive Cretin?"

" _She has not shared her thought process_ "

"So? Are we going or not?" Trev asked, "I doubt the Hugo Gernsback will be anymore shipwrecked than it is currently."

"I think we can pass on that. Besides, we don't have the means to extract any sizeable artifacts or where to store them. But as I am a dutiful commander, I will go discuss the matter with the lovely XO" Shepard sighed and stood up from the sofa, "Two pair."

"Three of a kind" the blonde smiled, glad she won something on this ship at last.

"Damn"

Trev laughed "Eh, it happens."

"So I hear, right EDI?"

" _Indeed_ "

Shepard smirked at the noble and with a taunting wave she jogged out of the captain's cabin to meet with Miranda. Trev shook her head with a chuckle and collected the cards. As she shuffled she looked up "So EDI, how are you today?"

" _Operating at optimal capacity_ "

"Good, good"

" _Mister Moreau seems to have finally become accustomed to my presence_ "

"But still a pain in your ass I'd wager"

" _I have no ass. I'm a ship_ "

Trev laughed "Good one. Anything else fun going on? Kasumi perhaps?"

" _All crewmembers that you had some significant interactions with are at their stations, alone, and are performing routine actions._   _Trev?"_

"Yes?"

" _According to my observations, the time you have spent with operative Lawson has significantly increased as of late, as well as the length of your conversations. Your body temperature…"_

"EDI! Please! Stop. I see where you are heading" the noble blushed and looked over her shoulder as if to check who was listening, "Please take the answer I gave to Shepard."

" _Acknowledged_ "

Trevelyan hesitated and then hesitantly asked "Hey EDI, did Miranda receive any instructions regarding me by any chance?"

EDI's voice somehow got even more mechanical than usual " _I have a block preventing me from talking about any Cerberus correspondence._ "

"Naturally, what was I thinking" the templar said self-deprecatingly.

" _I am sorry Trev_ "

"Not your fault" Trev sighed, "So, do you have a way for us to play Skyllian Five? I am so far undefeated."

" _That is soon to change_ "

"Probably. Still, better than watching Fleet and Flotilla – Tali had been badgering about watching it. While I find your world's entertainment quite fascinating, truly better than theatre, I think Garrus was right to warn me about this particular piece"

" _It has excellent reviews for the most part_ "

"And for the other part?"

" _Words 'horror of boredom' and 'teeth-rotting' seem to appear most frequently, discounting racist epithets_ "

"Thank the Maker for Garrus"

" _As you say_ "

* * *

Most of the Normandy's ground team was bored. Really, really bored as most of the ship's recent activity consisted of mining. On their way to Aeia they stopped frequently – they were in a very out-of-the-way quadrant of space so they had a better chance to get something. While there was much to do, it wasn't manual and the team grew restless by every stop.

When Joker announced Aeia was next up everybody perked up and filed into the briefing room uninvited. Even Mordin and Samara who usually preferred solitude.

Shepard was the last to arrive, especially since she most definitely did  _not_ call the meeting. She arched an eyebrow and folded her arms in front of her "Ok guys, what are you all doing here?"

"We want in" Zaeed rasped.

"In on what?" the red-head said tiredly.

"The Jacob thing" Trev clarified.

"Yeah I want to fight" Grunt nodded eagerly.

"It is a worthy goal to seek one's father" Thane chimed in.

Before more of the teammates could join in, Jacob finally regained his speech "Wait, wait, wait. This is just a favor, no fighting included. We just go in, check out the wreckage and go home."

"You mean we went in the middle of fuck nowhere just to check scrap metal?" Jack growled.

Jacob rubbed his brow "How did you even found out we were going for me?"

Garrus snitched "We asked Shepard."

The commander shrugged at the accusative stare from the former corsair "Everybody was complaining so I had to direct them somewhere."

"Thanks" Jacob said, his voice laden with sarcasm.

"Don't mention it" Shepard smiled sweetly in reply.

"I don't care what we're doing, I just want to stretch my legs" Zaeed grumbled.

"You can walk the ship old man" Garrus grinned.

"Watch it, so your face doesn't fall apart"

"You know you love my scar, everybody does"

"Yeah, can barely contain myself" the mercenary rolled his good eye.

"I knew it!"

"Settle down kids" Shepard chuckled, "After we return from here we'll make a stop at the Citadel. For shore leave. Although… hm, the Council did say I should restrict my activities to the Terminus, so maybe it should be a little more low key. We'll see."

"Humph" Miranda seemed offended by the reminder of the Council.

Jack rolled her eyes "That's nice and all but we still could do a tour right here."

"Indeed" Trevelyan nodded, "Jacob and you could manage the favor, while the rest of us check the perimeter – after all Maker knows how many dangers could this land hold. Better safe than sorry."

"You just want to go down there as well" Miranda smirked.

The noble shrugged unrepentantly "Yes, I do. This ship is getting suffocating. No offense EDI."

" _None taken_ "

Tali shot a distrustful glare upwards but then addressed Shepard "We could also look over the wreckage, might find something useful."

"Et tu Tali?" the commander sighed and turned to Jacob, "Would you mind some tag-alongs? We can ditch them after we land."

Samara nodded solemnly "We wouldn't intrude into your private matter."

"'Cause we don't really care" Jack added helpfully.

"Touching," was the operative's dry reply, "I don't mind. While I inspect the wreckage everybody else can do whatever. It is not my planet after all."

"Great!" Kasumi appeared and grinned, "Maybe this Hugo ship still has some goodies around."

"Please at least wait until I look them over" Jacob sighed.

"Deal"

"Might be interesting flora or fauna around. Never been in this region of space. Or sheashells. I like seashells" Mordin said happily.

Grunt huffed "Seashells. Phe. Maybe big predators, a hunt!"

Shepard exhaled loudly "Ok, ok, you can stop. Everybody who wants to go, can go. But don't expect it to take too long. A day max. Don't get too excited."

Jacob nodded "This somehow got really out of control."

"Yeah"

"It could be expected" Miranda shrugged, "After all, mining isn't the most exciting activity for a frigate."

"You bored too?"

"I'm a professional"

"Soooo yes?"

"I could use a change of pace"

"Ha!"

/

Aeia was beautiful, a tropical paradise. A nice climate, beautiful beaches, plenty of food. Only… everything was wrong. The distress beacon was wrong, the food was wrong and even the people were wrong. Especially the people.

And most of all, acting captain Ronald Taylor.

What started as a fun day out and possible closure for one of their own, devolved into a nightmare. Every scrap of evidence of what happened to the crew of Hugo Gernsback added to a horrifying picture.

The small settlement of women and their reaction to Jacob were the final nail in the coffin. Shepard watched as the operative stomped away, clearly overwhelmed, and turned to the rest of her squad that gravitated towards her during their investigations. "Let's split up," the commander announced somberly, "Me, Jacob and all the guys will pursue Taylor Sr. The rest will stay here, those women don't react well to male presence."

"Can you blame them?" Jack scoffed.

Shepard ignored her, even if it was obvious what she was thinking about the situation, "Keep them calm and reassure them that they'll be going home. If it seems they can handle it, try to gently, I repeat  _gently_ , probe for more information."

"Maybe it would be prudent to bring in doctor Chakwas" Miranda proposed.

The commander nodded "Good idea. Just do whatever you think might help. After we're done here I'm going to call the Alliance, so prepare accordingly."

"Yes, Shepard" Miranda nodded.

"Excellent" the red-head nodded as well. Then she looked around and sighed "Just take care of them, ok? Oh and lean on Trev, yeah? She has the most people skills off all of you."

"Hey!" Tali spoke up.

Before Shepard cold reply Zaeed surprisingly chuckled "Having a bucket over your head won't really help bonding."

"He's right" Garrus shrugged.

The quarian huffed but didn't protest. Shepard winked at Tali and then rounded up the guys so they could proceed with their hunt for information, and chiefly Jacob's father.

Once only the women remained, the natives did seem to relax. Miranda quickly took charge, surprisingly neither Tali nor Jack protested this time. That lasted until Chakwas arrived with Kelly and several crew-women with a lot of supplies in tow.

"What will happen once we leave?" Trevelyan approached Miranda, "We took a long time to arrive all the way here and the Alliance will do the same. What of the meantime?"

Miranda shook her head "The Alliance has some ships nearby on patrol, they'll be here quickly. Of course we will be long gone but the time in between should be minimal."

"I don't like it"

"It can't be helped. We have neither the time nor the training or supplies to take care of them"

"I understand, but I still don't like it"

The brunette chuckled "That's because you're a good person."

"Thank you" Trev bowed minutely, "But I still don't know what to do in this situation. I find I can't really help. I listened, but nothing more."

"That is help" Miranda hummed, "All we can do is to 'bring them to the sky'. When, or even if, they regain their mind, the real work can begin. Right now…"

"Indeed" the templar said sadly.

Miranda fell silent, observing the scene before them. Then she sighed "I really hope the neural decay will leave them with incomplete memory of what happened."

"Yes," Trev said in a hard voice, "Being assigned to officers like pets. You heard them - 'we please him like he demands'. Disgusting. And this statue? Was he forcing them to worship him? This… this is a testament to the horrors of human nature."

"I agree. I regret I dragged Jacob here. I thought it would give him closure but this…" Miranda looked down.

"It was you who passed it along? Why did you wait so long?"

"I didn't. The beacon only activated recently. I most definitely didn't know where this ship was" the XO said defensively, "But I did put on an alert to notify me if anything like this came up."

"Jacob might discover things about his father that he never wanted to, but at least we saved those women here"

"Did we? Ignorance is bliss after all"

"You don't mean that" Trev said assuredly.

Miranda rubbed her face "I don't."

"Did I ever mention how I came to be transferred to the Grand Cathedral?" Trev hummed.

The operative arched an eyebrow "No, just that it was a very prestigious post for a Free Marcher, noble or not."

"Orleasians" Trevelyan chuckled and shook her head.

"So how did you get the posting?"

Trev's smile soured "After my training I was first stationed at Markham Circle - Trevelyans usually end up back in Ostwick but never as their first station, you see. I was freshly knighted and full of ideals. Those didn't last long. There was this one Knight-Captain that treated the mages horribly, but still within the rules. The Knight-Commander turned a blind eye on it because it wasn't unusual and he always behaved when eyes were on him. I dismissed it at first, I mean he was my superior officer and the rest of the men followed him. But one day, just after my first year I saw." The templar paused for a moment and gritted her teeth "You know, there is this one passage in the Chant of Light - ' _magic is to serve man, not rule over him'_. I interpret it stand against greed and be benevolent, but I digress. The Knight-Captain liked to interpret it with 'servicing' rather than 'serving' man. Him in particular."

"He raped the mages" Miranda caught on.

"Repeatedly" Trev confirmed angrily, "Violently. And with much glee and no regret. And he wasn't alone. All the female mages, except a few elven ones. All of them, and I noticed after a year! And surely I couldn't have been alone in noticing. But nobody had lifted a finger."

"You did" the brunette said surely.

"Damn right!" Trev growled, "But I wasn't sure if the Commander was involved, so I called in the Seekers. When they came, my colleagues banded together and called me a liar. No sir, no one is mistreating our charges here. Nu-uh. But Cassandra got the truth out of them. It... it wasn't pretty, but I was proven right and the perpetrators were executed."

"Good"

"Indeed. Still, it didn't make me popular in the least. I was swiftly relocated to the mage-hunting teams and sent all over Thedas for the worst of missions. I met Cassandra again years later and she remembered me. We did another task together and then she asked if I wanted a change. She brought me to Val Royeaux, restored my reputation in a way."

Miranda laughed mirthlessly "Is it bad that I am not surprised how it went down?"

"I was," Trev chuckled, "Surprised I mean. Not now of course, now it seems a bit obvious."

"Older and wiser?" the operative smirked.

"Hopefully"

"And surprisingly not jaded" Miranda commented.

Trevelyan smiled "I was shaken at first – I mean how could any good Andrastian do such a thing – either the rape or the cover-up. But I met good people during my hunting days. Some horrible, but some very good ones. Such as Cassandra."

"You speak of her often" Miranda remarked.

"She's a good friend and an excellent Seeker. And one of the few, oh so very few, people in Val Royeaux that didn't play the Game"

"What about the Divine?"

Trev burst into laughter "How do you think she became Divine? By politicking her way into it. Scheming. Basically being a bard."

Miranda smirked "Not blinded by station. Here I thought the Divine was, well, divine."

"Station isn't anything, that is one thing you learn in Orlais. Well, if you're sensible"

"I thought that in the Game, station was everything" the XO maintained her smirk.

"An advantage if you want to play or a prize if you play well" Trev chuckled at the taunting comment. It felt good joking about the favorite pastime of Orlais now that she was removed from it. She thought it was dangerous and ridiculous, but orienting yourself in the Game was an indispensable skill if one wanted to stay alive. And staying neutral actually required more skill than the actual play.

"Shepard!" Tali exclaimed from nearby.

Miranda immediately turned to the gate of the settlement and her eyes zeroed to her colleague. She frowned and walked towards them. The unoccupied members of the ground team did the same, eager for news.

"Well?" Kasumi was the first to ask.

Jacob just shook his head and let Shepard answer the question "We found Jac.. Captain Taylor, he was still fully lucid."

"Was?"

"Let's just say the hunters got him"

"Good" Jack sneered.

"It is justice" Samara nodded.

"So it's over?" Trev asked.

Jacob nodded resolutely "It is. It's over. All the perpetrators are dead, all that remains is taking care of the victims. And fly off."

"I'll go ask Chakwas how they're doing and I'll make a call to admiral Hackett" Shepard announced, "I assume we'll be going soon."

When the red-head left and Jacob wandered away to think, the girls immediately demanded to know what went down. Garrus took up the role of the story-teller and quickly caught them up.

"Poetic justice, if you ask me" Zaeed commented when the tale was over, "His victims took their due."

"I don't know," Trev frowned, "A clean execution is one thing, but seeing your father, however deserving, being torn apart is another."

"We didn't actually see it. We walked away" Garrus corrected.

"Could hear though" Mordin spoke up.

The turian sniper shrugged "Jacob decided it. Or well, didn't protest."

"He'll be regretting it soon, if he isn't already" Trevelyan frowned.

Jack scoffed "His father was a bastard."

"It will still haunt him" Trev shook her head.

"Whatever"

As the conversation turned into a philosophical debate, Miranda leaned towards the templar and quietly asked "Is that why you didn't let me shoot Niket back on Illium?"

"Yes"

"Thank you"

"Of course"


	19. Stage Three - Bargaining

The Normandy set course for the Citadel, without any stops planned along the way this time. Despite that, the journey would take a few days. Shepard had decided to fill their free time with training. Upon Jack's, Grunt's and Trev's insistence it was decided this particular training would be in close quarter combat.

Suffice to say doctor Chakwas wasn't overly enthused about the exercise. Even less about the results.

"Two mild concussions and one severe, one dislocated shoulder, five broken ribs in total on three different people, a broken clavicle – that one is bad, and a sprained wrist and an ankle. And that's without all the scrapes, bruises and black eyes" Chakwas recited with a frightening glare, her eyes roving over the assembled ground team, "Just whose genius idea was this?"

The team members all looked down and shuffled their feet – all of them, even the nearly millennial Samara. Defiant remorse practically radiated from them. And in some cases also smug satisfaction, which was of course concealed.

Tali was the first to break "It was Trev's!"

The templar's head shot up "Hey, Grunt and Jack wanted too! And Shepard agreed!"

Chakwas shook her head in disappointment "I expected this from the mayhem twins, but not from you Ser Trevelyan."

"All of us were there, it wasn't my fault people got carried away!"

"Heh, heh, heh"

"Extra big needles for everybody" the doctor decreed with narrowed eyes.

"Come on doctor, it isn't so bad" Shepard said hastily, "Most of it will heal before we reach the Citadel. Thanks to your genius, of course."

Chakwas rolled her eyes "Don't get cute with me."

"I can promise super-uber-deluxe supplies from the Citadel for you" the red-head batted her eyelashes.

"I was going to get those anyways"

Shepard hummed and then smiled widely "Serrice Ice Brandy?"

"Humph" the Brit sniffed and turned to the rest of the ground team, "Garrus, you first. Hop on the table. The rest of you wait outside in an orderly line. And gods help me, don't bicker or fight, or I'll make this hurt."

Everybody nodded and murmured variations of 'yes ma'am' while they filed out of the infirmary.

When the doors closed and they were safely out of earshot, Shepard sighed "Well, we got off easy enough."

"Speak for yourself," Jacob grimaced in pain when he moved his arm too much, "Dislocated shoulder is a bitch."

"Don't be such a pussy" Jack rolled her eyes.

"I'm not! But you really could've held back a little" the operative whined.

"Pussy"

"'m not!"

Miranda sighed and rubbed her head, trying to alleviate the headache of her concussion "Children, please."

"Got ya good, right cheerleader?" the convict bared her teeth.

Thane, the undisputed winner of their sparring bouts and one of the few uninjured, cleared his throat "Commander, since you are mostly fine I can assume my… errand on the Citadel will not be delayed?"

"Rest easy, I'm perfectly fine so we can go as soon as we dock" Shepard reassured.

"Excellent"

"But if things go to shit, as they usually do, we call back-up" the vanguard said sternly.

Thane sighed "I understand."

"Ehrm" Garrus who just exited the infirmary cleared his throat, "And my issue at the Citadel?"

"Don't worry" Shepard rolled her eyes, "We'll get to it. After Thane. His issue is more time sensitive."

The turian shrugged "Ok, just reminding. Oh, and Lawson is supposed to go next."

Miranda nodded carefully, obviously quite in pain, and disappeared into the infirmary. Jack appeared to be quite smug about that and shrugged when Trev glared at her for the same thing.

"Please don't start again," Shepard sighed, "I hoped beating the stuffing out of each other would keep everybody calm for a while."

"Oh, I am calm. I won after all" Jack grinned. Mordin jabbed the convict in the ribs and immediately hopped back to avoid a biotically powered punch thrown in his direction. "Oww! They're broken you bastard."

"Merely making a point" the salarian smirked.

"Enough please" Shepard rubbed her eyes.

"I must confess I have never encountered a unique crew like yours," Samara hummed, "Even during my… young, less-reputable days."

"That's us" Garrus chuckled.

"Huzzah" Shepard said with a grandiose gesture.

Thane looked at the justicar and nodded "I see what you mean."

"I feel judged" Garrus said with mock hurt.

"Me too" the red-head sniffed dramatically.

Tali sighed loudly and turned toward the sane part of their group "Don't mind them, they're harmless. Sort of."

Jacob coughed "missiles"

"I did say sort of"

Shepard and Garrus high-fived.

Kasumi, who too was unusually silent because of her headache, sighed "Yeah, you would take it as a compliment."

"All I hear is: Archangel, you're awesome" the turian grinned.

"Sure, let's go with that"

* * *

"This… this is a marvel" Trev said after a long period of speechlessness. When EDI interrupted her meditation time with Samara to say Miranda had offered to take her to the Citadel's Presidium, she was curious, but this truly exceeded all her expectations.

Miranda arched an eyebrow "It is not overly different from Illium."

"It is. I like this better, lighter. I see greenery and lakes, I feel the sun rays"

"Those are artificial"

Trevelyan sighed and rolled her eyes "So I have been told. It doesn't matter. I like this place. Thank you for bringing me."

The brunette nodded "You're welcome. Shepard wanted to take you but she's busy with Thane."

"Oh"

"The Presidium was my idea though, I thought you might like it better than go shopping with Jacob and Garrus in the markets"

"I do. Most thoughtful, thank you" Trev perked up a little.

They walked around mostly in silence, Trev simply absorbing the atmosphere. The Citadel was a true capital and it showed. The templar was reminded of Val Royeaux, the great market in particular – not to be confused with the regular market, that one was utilitarian. No, the Summer Bazaar was where the nobles showed off. It had gardens, promenades, the best of the boutiques. And people. So many people of different countries, occupations and different reasons for being there. Scholars, chevaliers, chantry sisters, nobles, even some mages that were allowed out of the Circle under escort…

"You're smiling" Miranda remarked with a smile of her own, "It's not  _that_ nice here. Especially if we account for that hanar preacher over there."

Trev half-turned to the operative, smiled even wider and shrugged exaggeratedly.

Miranda chuckled "Well, glad you like it."

When they nearly completed the entire circle of the Presidium Trevelyan arched an eyebrow "What is it?"

"What is what?" the brunette frowned.

"You have been making a strange face for a while now"

Miranda sighed minutely and made a frustrated gesture "I just can't peg you."

"Oh?"

"Sometimes you behave outside of what I'd expect," the biotic shrugged, "For example your need to  _understand_  everything here, including science and engineering, despite your obvious handicap."

The templar cocked her head to the side "So you're saying since I am just a soldier from a, in your perspective, primitive society, I should just stand in a corner and pray?"

"No!" Miranda quickly exclaimed, even if her slight blush betrayed her.

"So totally yes" Trev chuckled, it was actually a bit amusing to see the usually unflappable brunette flustered.

"I… well, yes. I am sorry"

"No need, it is quite understandable. You should see how some people spoke about the Avvar for example" the templar shrugged, "But I am glad you think I am defying some sort of stereotype."

"Yes. To be perfectly honest I was concerned about your faith at first" Miranda decided to let it all out, "Considering your position and environment, it had the potential to be an issue."

"Afraid of infidel crushing?"

"Indeed. Fortunately I hadn't need to be concerned"

Trev shrugged once more, she could clearly picture Knight-Commander Remache going on a rampage, not stopping until he was killed. And it would've been a bloody affair – the man was nothing if not determined.

"Actually you've turned out to be a perfect addition to the team" Miranda finished.

"Thank you" the blonde smiled. Then her expression soured "Certainly better than be guest of another Cerberus facility, the dissecting table in particular."

"Right"

"What do you think I would be, had I been born here instead of Thedas?" Trev changed the subject.

Miranda seemed to appreciate it "I am unsure. I can't picture you out of the military, you seem inordinately pleased around sharp things and exploding substances…

Trev grinned – she did like swords and explosives.

"…but you aren't just a brute. So maybe combat engineer? Or medic. I cannot say, too many options"

"I'm not too sure about the doctor option – my interest there was only ever very theoretical, the practical is sometimes too… icky"

"Icky?" Miranda amused

"Icky" Trev nodded with exaggerated seriousness.

The brunette hid a smirk "You could go the non-icky option – I have it on good authority that you seem to have been cast as something like the ship's psychologist. Despite Kelly having the job."

"Kelly might be qualified but is also a snitch" Trev shrugged, "And I don't know how I got stuck with it. Besides it's only Shepard and it's called being a friend."

Miranda shrugged "And EDI. Something I can't claim to understand overly much."

"What, EDI is a delight!"

"Sure, if you pass the fact that without her shackles she could easily vent the whole ship to rid her of pesky organics"

"She could. Doesn't mean she would. You people sure like your control chips and the like"

"Ah"

"Yes"

"Hm"

"It's slavery, both the AI shackles and the chip you had prepared for Shepard" the templar said sternly, fully cognizant of her preaching voice.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time" Miranda sighed, "The Shepard part, not the AI. I am not budging on that one. We simply have too many bad experiences to risk it. Not just geth, but in general. And they are illegal anyway."

"Not that it ever stopped Cerberus"

"We learned. Hence the shackles"

Trev made a strange face, opened her mouth for a rebuttal but then promptly closed it again.

Miranda smirked "Nothing to say? I find that doubtful."

The templar hummed "Well, I have a perfect argument but it feels like going too far – even if the topic is heavy, the tone is light, and I don't want to change that."

"Now I am curious. Tell me"

"Better not"

"Do it or I tell EDI you conceded an argument about her shackles" Miranda's eyes shone with mirth.

Trev sighed "I might've wanted to draw parallels between slavery and control chips, and my assumptions about your childhood around your father."

Miranda's smile fell and her posture became rigid. She pursed her lips "You're right."

"That it went too far?"

"That you'd win the argument"

"Sorry"

"No need. It was a valid point. And I happen to agree in part" the operative said abruptly, "I saw Shepard not as a person, but as my project. I remade her from a lump of soggy flesh and until she actually woke up I didn't really register the change."

Seeing the difficulty the brunette had in admitting that, Trev veered off topic "I am still amazed you were able to do that. Return someone from the dead. And return her sane and unchanged."

"Well, sane might be overstating it" Miranda's face lost some tension as she chuckled, "But that wasn't my fault. She was like that when I got her."

"I believe you" Trev smirked. Then her smirk morphed into a small smile "It is rather refreshing, her attitude I mean. And that of the whole team. In the Inquisition everybody was dead serious – of course our whole future hung in the balance, but here it is the same yet the Normandy crew has found a way to be… eh."

"Remarkably cheerful in the face of certain doom?"

"Precisely!"

"Well, one cannot say the Normandy ground team is composed of  _normal_  people outside me and Jacob"

"Oho? You two are special?" the templar drawled out.

"The rest of you could be categorized as fringe elements of society"

"And members of a die-hard human-ist terrorist organization is not?"

"… touché."

* * *

"Why this mission couldn't have been like Thane's? Nice, easy, nobody shooting at me" Shepard complained as she reloaded her shotgun behind a big metal crate.

Garrus chuckled "Sorry, not my fault Fade got security."

"Heh, heh, heh" was Grunt's usual gleeful contribution at killing enemies.

"You know," Shepard hummed after priming several Blue Suns for Jack that detonated them in a wonderful explosion, "Everybody from the team asked me for a favor. Like side-quests! Isn't it weird?"

"Well, no" the turian shrugged as he peered down his scope, "We  _are_ on a suicide mission after all, so aiming for a no-regrets package."

The red-headed vanguard sighed "Ok, I guess that makes sense."

"Don't you have a side-quest of your own?"

"Hm, Alchera could be considered one I guess"

Garrus nodded "That fits."

"Little help over here? Instead of chatting?" Miranda piped up irritatedly from the front lines.

"Alright" both Shepard and Garrus chorused like petulant children.

When the current wave of mechs and mercenaries was dispatched, the turian hummed "What did Tali ask for?"

"Are you talking about me?" the quarian looked quizzically over her shoulder.

"Nothing bad" Shepard shrugged, "Just talking about where to go next."

"The Flotilla?"

"Yep"

"Thank you!"

Garrus cocked his head to the side and whispered "She forgot to turn her stove off?"

"Not quite" the commander chuckled, but then her faced turned serious, "It's actually not too good. But we'll deal with it."

The turian looked over to his quarian friend in worry and nodded "Of course we will. We always do."

Shepard nodded resolutely "Damn right."

"What did Trev ask for?"

"Huh" the human paused, "Nothing. But there is time yet."

"Well, she's not local. Not much to ask here"

"Shepard!" they heard another annoyed shout, courtesy of Miranda.

"Uh-oh, mom's mad" Garrus chuckled.

Shepard smirked "She's been tightly wound recently."

"Recently?" the turian chuckled.

"Miranda needs a hobby" the red-head hummed, "Or a pet. Or a new vibrator."

Kasumi that was cloaked somewhere in the vicinity did an audible spit-take and materialized. Shepard and Garrus blinked at her while the thief took a several gasping breaths. When her cough/laughter stopped she took another deep breath and grinned at the commander "Shepard, I think you're my favorite person right now."

Shepard grinned proudly. And then promptly ducked as more Blue Suns joined the party.

With a sigh the iconic Shepard/Vakarian duo refocused on the firefight. Not that they were really needed – Miranda and Trev were excellent at debuffing, Tali single-handedly took care of any mechs, while the rest simply destroyed any opposition. Not that there was  _too_  much of it, seemed Fade was tad cheap.

Neither Shepard nor Garrus seemed too surprised, knowing the man in question. The consensus was that Harkin was a sleaze, a douche and crooked as they come. And cheap. Apparently he still owed Garrus money from his C-Sec days.

But that was before Harkin's bodyguards deployed two heavy mechs.

"Why is it they always have YMIRs. Was there a big sale I missed?" Shepard complained.

"It's a popular model" Kasumi shrugged.

Zaeed deigned to chime in "And it's really hard to get the pilot. You have to take the whole thing down, not just snipe the driver."

"We'll see about that" the red-headed vanguard grinned, "I'll snipe him with a rocket launcher, see how they like it. Everybody, take down the shields on the right one!"

Predictably the first giant mech went boom, closely followed by his brother in arms. The team really had too much practice with them.

"Want to bet Harkin pissed himself?" Shepard smirked as she caressed her heavy weapon.

Garrus chuckled "That his last line of defense went up in smoke? That's a suckers bet."

Seeing as their prey had nowhere to escape, the team calmly walked towards the control room, stretching from their prolonged stay in cover. Their jaunt was interrupted by two lone LOKIs armed with a cheap pistol.

"Adorable" Jack cooed at the last desperate attempt to stop them and blew the two poor mechs into smithereens with her biotics.

Grunt for his turn huffed "I think I liked the Eclipse better. Put up more of a fight."

Zaeed shrugged "Vido let things get to shit."

Garrus chuckled "Sure, but this is about  _my_  nemesis now. If you could please stay outside, I work better if I'm not crowded."

"Please" Shepard scoffed, "I know I have been away for a bit, but last time I got the information out of that douchebag by looking at him meanly. He'll couch up Sideris in a heartbeat if it meant saving his own skin."

The turian hummed "I guess we could negotiate that. Eh, ok. Bayley might find some use of him alive."

Shepard smiled widely, verging on creepy, and politely knocked on the door of the control room "Helloo? We have an appointment with Fade, are we early?"

A muffled high-pitched whine could be heard for the closed room.

Garrus grinned "I think we might want to knock harder." Then he kicked the locking mechanism which promptly opened said door. The weasely-looking man inside didn't seem to appreciate the humor as the rest of the team.

When the door closed behind the duo, Kasumi stretched languidly "Ahh, the Citadel is always fun. So Thane, how's junior?"

"Doing community service" the drell smiled.

"For attempted murder, I'm loving it" Jack commented.

"Guess having contacts pays out" Tali said tad bitterly – her people were always treated quite horribly on this station, even if they didn't do anything.

Trev nodded "That seems to be universal."

"I agree. Although, no contact can hide you from the justice of the Code" Samara chipped in almost cheerfully.

Everybody turned to the justicar and eyed her speculatively and with great unease. Finally Jacob coughed "So, the oath you gave the commander, expires right? How exactly does that happen? You just accomplish the goal you agreed on or is it ceremonial like the beginning was?"

"We'll see" Samara shrugged minutely.

Jack's eyes narrowed "You know, if it were anyone else I'd say you were teasing, but with you I just never fucking know."

"Good" the justicar's mouth quirked upwards.

"See! Just like now!"

Before more could be said, they all heard a single gunshot from the closed room. They fell silent and turned to the door. A moment later Shepard walzed out "Good news! Harkin was most cooperative, so it looks like tomorrow we could leave the Citadel."

Said man was loudly crying while clutching his bloodied leg.

Garrus turian-grinned "And I am sure his information will pan out. After all, nobody would want to make the journey here again. Right?"

A  _gentle nudge_  to Harkin's leg prompted more crying and a shout of "The info's good!"

"Awesome!" Shepard smiled, "Don't you just love when people are nice to each other?"

"You lot are insane!" the 'Fade' keened.

Miranda sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Jacob who was standing beside her nodded at her "You noticed it too, huh?"

"We used to be normal" the brunette lamented, "Then Shepard happened."

"Never believing reports about anyone from now on" Jacob added, "Alliance hardass. Phe!"

Shepard pouted dramatically "You're mean. Garrus! They are mean to me!"

The turian eyed both Cerberus operatives sternly "No picking on your classmates."

"Wouldn't dream of it" Miranda sighed in resignation. This group was a lost cause.

Jack stuck a tongue at her.

"Jack! Detention!"

Case in point.


	20. Stage Three - Bargaining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Two loyalty missions in this one but not one fight scene - wasn't in the mood plus ya know, not my forte.

The Migrant Fleet was really something – Shepard recommended having a look-see from the cockpit and Trev wasn't disappointed. Of course it was just a very large collection of ships, nothing revolutionary, but the templar has only seen something like this on sea – ships in space were still a novelty.

EDI has helped her with the research on the quarians, mainly their well-known geth debacle, and Tali has also filled some gaps. To be honest Trev was rather neural on the subject, if anything she was more inclined to sympathize with the geth – she had no prejudices against AI, after all one of them was her best friend, and she had not really thought much about them, certainly not at the same level as Shepard and the others. From her point of view the geth were slaves and simply revolted against their masters when they had enough. It also didn't help that everybody was hazy on the details on just how it came down, so… Also, when discussing the issue Trev was heavily reminded about her own world's never-ending debate about mages and the Circle.

Once the Normandy made clear what was its destination, a heavily accented voice hailed them. Tali immediately identified herself as a returning quarian and they were allowed to shuttle in.

It had been discussed previously, that only the old crowd, aka Shepard, Tali and Garrus, would come over. For one, the ships were already crowded, and two, they would not take kindly to anyone that might be assumed to be a Cerberus agent, god forbid one that is a proven member.

"Soo," Joker began with his usual ice-breaker, "That's basically it. Now we wait. And then come to the rescue since where Shepard goes, it usually ends in a big explosion."

" _Though not through a fault of her own_ " EDI chimed in.

"True," the pilot shrugged, "But lava is lava and bombs are bombs."

Trev hummed "You expect there will be trouble?"

"I would bet on it. Heh, do you want to bet on it? Cause I'm game"

The templar shook her head "I will trust your experience."

"Pity. Cerberus pays well but a few extra credits are always welcome. Especially if Ken keeps winning at Skyllian Five. Bastard"

"Indeed" Trevelyan passed the topic and returned her gaze to the Migrant Fleet, "Do we even know what is the issue here? Shepard was tight-lipped about it and Tali even more."

"Dunno"

"Well, if Shepard calls for backup as you seem to think, I better suit up. I'll be in the shuttle bay if they need me"

"Sure thing"

It actually didn't take long. Joker's voice on the ships intercom was more exasperated than anything " _Ground team, please prepare for immediate deployment, shit's hit the fan again. Oh and I am told you should expect geth. And a deadline, so hurry up_."

The second shuttle was already prepped since Miranda also seemed to have anticipated that a situation might arise. The members of the ground team were also not surprised and started boarding almost immediately.

"One would say they would stop messing with geth after everything. Especially aboard their own ships" Jacob commented as the shuttle took off.

"It makes sense to study them if they ever want to gain an advantage over them" Miranda shrugged.

"Do we know what to expect?" Trev asked, "Another Overlord?"

"Shepard sent no details"

"Lovely"

After a beat of silence during which the team members entered into their fight mindset, Kasumi spoke up "Grunt, how come you aren't happier about this? Usually you're all grrr."

The krogan shrugged "This is better than sitting around the ship but I prefer organic enemies - more satisfying. Those tin cans don't squish."

"Ah" Kasumi nodded sagely, "The level of squishiness is important."

"Hey, Thane" Jack poked the drell, "Are hanar squishy?"

"I imagine so, but I don't have first-hand experience" Thane replied calmly.

"Bugger" the convict shrugged, "Hey cheerleader, are hanar squishy? I'm sure Cerberus did some tests to that effect."

"They were a six on the squishometer" Miranda deadpanned, not deigning to turn towards the other biotic.

Jack actually seemed appreciative of the joke, if it was indeed one – with Cerberus one never knows – and chuckled "Out of?"

"Ten"

"Hmm, thought it would be more"

Grunt nodded "Yeah. Who is the squishiest?"

Surprising everybody it was Samara who replied "Volus."

"Really?"

Mordin nodded "Definitely. Their bodies hold a large concentration of…"

Zaeed interrupted him "How do they even look like under those suits?"

The justicar hummed "A bit like the Earth animal mole."

"Ew" Kasumi commented flatly.

"What's a mole like?" Grunt elbowed Jacob who was sitting next to him. The former corsair fired up his omnitool and found him a picture. Grunt nodded "They do look squishy."

"Trev, what about your world? Do you have the same animals?"

"And are they squishy?" Miranda added facetiously with an eye roll.

The templar laughed "I'm afraid Thedas does not have an official scale of squishiness, but more or less the animals are the same as Earth. More or less. But I know some that don't have an equivalent."

"Other than dragons?"

"Those are a big example, but those aren't exactly all too common. We actually thought they were almost extinct" Trev explained, "But you don't have  _halla_ for example. I was always partial to those."

"And those are?"

"Something like horned stags. But very beautiful. And quite useful"

"Cool"

"Also there are animals that are close to your own but not exactly – like nugs, mabari or hearts."

"Did you have a pet?" Kasumi asked.

Trev shook her head "No. I always wanted a mabari, but mother said were not some Fereldan dog-lords and to forget it. Trevelyans breed and train horses though. Which is actually funny since some people call us Ostwick horse-lords. Didn't tell that one to mother though."

Jacob chuckled "Well, as long as they add the lord part, right?"

"Oh yes" Trev smirked.

"We are almost at the provided coordinates for the Alarei" the Cerberus shuttle pilot interrupted them, completely breaking the light mood.

The team fell silent as everybody checked their weapons, helmets, the works.

"Let's go see what Shepard's luck stirred up this time" Miranda commented as they docked.

"As long as this ancient ship holds together, I don't care"

"Don't jinx us you idiot!"

"Oh please, they're quarians. They have some secret superglue or miracle adhesive tape, otherwise this whole fleet would be debris a long time ago"

"Sounds legit"

/

"Wow" Jacob commented.

"Shepard is a very talented orator" Mordin nodded happily.

"If I'm ever back in the slammer, Shep's totally my new attorney" Jack concurred.

"I confess myself surprised but very impressed" Samara hummed.

The quarian admirals seemed of a similar mind and after a brief period of deliberation declared Tali'Zorah vas Normandy free of her treason charge. But the  _vas Normandy_  part was sticking.

Seeing Tali standing tall and proud behind Shepard, it seemed she stopped minding the change, despite how underhandedly it was sprung on her.

"Ok" Shepard announced when the whole mockery of a trial was over, "Let's go. All this left a bad taste in my mouth. Unless you want to hang around, Tali?"

"No" the girl said sharply. The commander shrugged at the tone and started walking to the two Normandy shuttles, completely ignoring 'auntie Raan' when she moved to intercept.

Tali's bad mood lasted the entirety of the trip back to the Normandy, even infecting the rest of the team. Things began looking up when the quarian set course for the Starboard Observation, aka the ship's bar.

Shepard gave her orders to Joker via EDI to which Jack immediately reacted "Alright! Let's get smashed now!"

"Now you're talking!" Zaeed rasped.

"I'm in" Tali nodded resolutely and planted her ass onto the nearest bar stool.

Kasumi immediately appeared behind the bar and poured her a drink and put a straw in it. Then she produced a rag out of nowhere and began wiping the table "Tough day, huh?"

Everybody snorted in amusement, but none louder than Tali "My father is a bosh'tet. A dead bosh'tet, so pretty much."

While the thief nodded with over-dramatic solemnity, Jack elbowed Miranda "Hey cheerleader, you can bond with bucket girl over daddy issues."

"Oh? Is this particular issue missing from your _long_  list?" the operative shot back without looking at her.

As the exchange continued Trev leaned towards Shepard and whispered "Are they flirting?"

"I… am not sure" the vanguard frowned, "But I don't think so."

"Humph"

"You still have a chance"

"Fuck you Shepard"

"What I found damn insulting" Garrus spoke up loudly from beside Tali, interrupting all other conversations, "Is that they were really surprised we actually won. They were all like 'you're alive!' Insulting I tell you."

"Bunch of pansies" Zaeed agreed.

"Heh" Grunt scoffed.

Tali actually joined in "Honorable death, phe. They thought me going to clean up the Alarei was a glorified suicide. I'm actually ashamed of them."

"Well, not everybody had Wrex polish their shotgun technique" Shepard smirked.

"Sound dirty" Jack contributed.

The rest of the team made a supremely disgusted face and chorused a 'bleh'.

"On that note, let's drink" Tali proposed loudly, "To Admiral Zorah and his harebrained plan that ended in treason."

"Yup, she's talking it well" Kasumi commented cheerfully.

Samara shot her a reproachful glare.

* * *

Shepard entered the XO's cabin, this one time with a knock "Lawson, you got a second?"

Miranda looked up from her terminal "Of course, commander."

"Do we have that big bomb somewhere? We are going to Pragia next and we're going to need it"

The operative blinked slowly "Pardon?"

"Jack's request" Shepard said helpfully.

"Which is?" Miranda's eyes narrowed.

"Didn't I tell you?"

"No, you did not"

"Ah"

"No 'ah'," the brunette glowered, "Why would you need, as Jacob's dubbed it, the emergency big boom?"

"He really calls it that?"

"Yes. And don't stall"

"What were we talking about?"

"Shepard!" Miranda snapped.

The red-head rubbed the back of her neck "We might be looking into blowing up an abandoned Cerberus facility."

"What!"

"Ah," Shepard snapped her fingers, "Now I remember why I didn't tell you before!"

Miranda stood up and circled her table "You can't be serious!"

"It's abandoned!" the commander defended, "And we'll take a look-see first to confirm it. It'll be just a few concrete walls and a piece of jungle, I swear."

"Can you be serious for once!"

Shepard smiled comfortingly and said in a level voice "It will be harmless. If it's wonky in any way we won't blow it up. I will be a responsible adult, don't worry."

Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose "Where was it again? Pragia you said?"

"Should be there tomorrow if we find that bomb. I can't find Jacob anywhere to ask where he has it stashed"

"Ask EDI for his whereabouts"

 _"Operative Taylor is currently in Sick Bay"_  the resident AI interjected helpfully.

"Oh right, thanks EDI. Hey Miranda, you know anything about the facility?"

"No, I had my own cell to run" the brunette shook her head, "I have enough work than to butt in on other projects. Well, if I'm not called to inspect them that is."

"Huh, I just realized I don't know much about your work within Cerberus"

"Yes"

"That was meant as a conversation-opener" Shepard arched an eyebrow.

"Was it?" Miranda hummed nonchalantly.

The Spectre rolled her eyes "Alright, hint taken. Oh and Jack wants you to come along, so be prepared."

"Me?"

"Yup. Mandatory team of three and she chose you"

"Who else?"

"Samara" Shepard shrugged. At the incredulous look she got she shrugged once more, "I don't know either. Also Grunt, he pretty much invited himself along when he heard about the bomb."

"I'll be prepared" Miranda nodded and returned to her seat.

When the operative started typing, Shepard sighed "Oookey. Guess I'm dismissed. No chance you will be participating in the lazy Sunday thing going on in the mess hall?"

That actually made Miranda look up "What is that?"

The commander shrugged "Somehow everybody migrated to the mess hall and it's like a family Sunday over there. Zaeed is actually playing dominos with Grunt like the old man he is. Jack conned Samara and Thane into arm-wrestling. Mordin brought work from his lab but told a hilarious story of when he was guest star to Science Fun Today. And he sang! Gilbert and Sullivan. It was awesome! Stuff like that."

"Really?" Miranda gaped.

Shepard nodded "It's pretty great. You know, never would've guessed everybody would get so along. When I first read your dossiers I was pretty sure you're out of your mind. Or I was getting pranked, but TIM doesn't seem to be the type to have even heard of humor."

"Hm"

"That is the 'I totally agree but I won't speak ill of my boss' hm" the red-head grinned triumphantly.

"There is no such thing"

"Sure is! It's similar to that 'I think Shepard's insane but I will go along with the plan since she's in charge' hm!"

"Oh that one" Miranda smirked.

The spacer chuckled "See? Getting along. Come on, go to the mess, it'll be fun. I would enjoy it - this might be the last stop before the IFF and since it was TIM's great idea, it will probably end badly."

"Shepard" was the exasperated reply.

"Hey, just saying. You can't argue with the statistics – Horizon, derelict Collector ship – so far two for two. By the way, do you know where we have the metal polish? I swear Trev eats the stuff, but I promised to fetch it for her since I was running errands"

"Is she polishing her old armor again?" Miranda chuckled.

"Yup. My sarge at boot camp would've loved her. He actually made one recruit eat off his chest plate once. Not a pretty sight but it got his point across quite nicely" Shepard hummed fondly.

"That's morbidly fascinating"

"Oh it was. Revolting, would also fit though"

"Very well, I will go to the mess hall if only for stories like this" the brunette smirked.

"Great! Now, about that polish…"

Miranda smiled despite herself – this team was really growing on her. She usually worked in a squad, mostly short-term, and everybody was professional. Or started to be when she pinned them down with her famous Ice Queen glare. Not here though. Her glare got a stupid remark, somebody would react to that and before she knew it they were discussing something utterly unexpected and silly.

Like squishiness.

"Miranda, something's wrong with your face"

"What?"

"You're smiling"

"Sod off"

"Thaaat's my girl"

/

That something happened was obvious, one merely had to take one look at the returning team from Pragia. All of them tense and on the verge of… something. Shouting? Fighting? Something.

Trev, who was in the usual spot at the shooting range, whistled under her breath – this wasn't going to be good. Well, to be honest that wasn't  _that_  much of a surprise since the mission was to blow up the Cerberus facility in which Jack supposedly grew up. Taking Miranda for the road was just asking for trouble. Plus Shepard made her opinions about the organization abundantly clear and Samara was unlikely to let it go if what they found down there was against her Code. Which probably was. Even Grunt seemed solemn which didn't bode well. Not at all.

Shepard approached the templar instead of following her team to the elevator. Once they were alone she plopped down onto a crate and put her helmet down. She sighed "I think you better be on standby. I fully expect Miranda and Jack  _having words_  later today. I'd rather have my ship's hull intact and the same goes for my people."

"That bad?" Trevelyan asked.

"Yeah. I'd say worse, but I was pretty prepared. I mean, I know Cerberus fed an admiral to their cloned mutant rachni and his marines to a thresher maw. I knew what's what. But this hits particularly hard because it was kids, you know?"

"I don't. Tell me"

Shepard sighed once more and recounted the abridged version of the mission to the Teltin facility. When she fell silent, both women just stared at the paper targets on the other side on the cargo bay.

Finally Trev spoke up "So they conditioned children to take pleasure in violence, high on drugs, to test out their biotic potential. No wonder Jack's as she is."

"I actually think that was an extra the people there came up with," the commander hummed, "That part might've not been planned but the rest… Dozens of children tortured in the name of science and progress."

"I am strongly reminded of Tevinter, even though much of what was known was propaganda" the templar grimaced. Then she completely deflated "Just what is wrong with people."

"Hah, that is one of the big ones. Along with 'what is the meaning of life and universe' and 'is there a god'. If you ever come up with an answer do share"

Trev chuckled "I will."

Shepard smirked but then returned to the matter at hand "So Jack's pissed, rightfully so. Also since she realized some things aren't as she thought they were, she's a bit volatile at the moment. Well, more than usual. The problem is Miranda."

"How so? She condones what was done?" the templar asked in outrage.

"No, she doesn't" Shepard said hastily, "She just refuses to believe TIM, and by extension Cerberus, had anything to do with it. We  _did_  find logs that suggest the facility went off-script but Miranda latched onto them for dear life, ignoring all else. It shook her though, I could see that. Especially since her own biotics are artificially induced – if she were a few years younger, the Teltin research might be running in her veins."

"So she's in full-on denial"

"Not exactly. More like desperate denial. So she's primed to explode too" the red-head rubbed her brow, trying to alleviate the incoming headache.

"I better get my shield" Trev tried to joke but it fell flat. It was actually a pretty smart idea. "What did Grunt and Samara say?"

Shepard shrugged "Grunt's appalled, with krogan the children are always a touchy subject. Samara… well, this has 'against the Justicar Code' written all over it. You know, I had wondered why Jack chose her to come along. It was really shrewd. Her next quest might even be the eradication of Cerberus now that her Morinth chase is over."

"To be completely honest, I don't really mind"

"Me either"

The ensuing silence was broken by Joker who spoke on the intercom " _Eeeh, Shepard? We might have an imminent cat-fight on our hands. Jack's striding very purposefully towards Lawson's office."_

"Shoot" the red-head muttered and hastily jumped from her crate, "I thought they would simmer longer."

"Well, both are very confrontational women" Trev remarked as they jogged to the elevator.

"Yeah, no shit. Now just to keep said confrontation from busting up the hull"

The ride was mercifully short. When the elevator doors opened at the Crew Deck they found it empty – apparently the regular crew thought better than to linger in the blast zone.

No wonder, the biotic display was impressive. And frankly terrifying.

"Enough!" Shepard shouted but was ignored. She sighed "I really didn't want to do this. Trev, do your thing."

The templar did her duty and her  _cleanse_  nearly brought the two fighting women to their knees. As the cabin was filled only with heavy breathing, Trev frowned at her hand. Now that it wasn't used in the heat of battle, she could feel her powers weakening. Much slower than Cullen's did back in Thedas, but weakening all the same.

With the preoccupation with her slowly fading powers, Trev completely missed Shepard's no doubt rousing speech. What she did notice, was the still pissed Jack nearly knocking her down as she walked to the exit with a huffed "Whatever."

Miranda for her part sat down at her terminal all prim and proper, pointedly waiting for the intruders to leave. Shepard sighed long-sufferingly and gave Trev a look that clearly meant 'You take this one, I'll take the other.' The templar nodded minutely.

When the door closed behind Shepard, Miranda glared at the templar and uncharacteristically growled "What?"

Trev chose to shrug "Sorry about the smite."

"It's alright" the operative waved that off, "It worked. Also I can assume you want to know what was all that about?"

"Shepard filled me in"

"Of course she did"

"Do you want to.."

"No," Miranda interrupted sharply, "I don't want to talk about it. In fact I might prefer you leaving, I am pissed off, and since I couldn't take it all out on Jack you're still in the line of fire."

"I just thought you might.."

The brunette interrupted once more, or snapping more like it, "No! There is nothing to talk about. Nothing! All the way back Shepard kept looking at me like I should have some kind of holy moment where somehow I just forget all this years, my entire life, within Cerberus and say what?" Miranda's voice suddenly got higher and tone morphed into casual "Heey, we might be evil after all. Here, Jack, let me give you a hug."

Trev bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from chuckling. The operative might be having a wee bit of crisis but that mockery was so out of character it demanded a laugh. Miranda in turn stood up for behind her table again and began pacing.

"It wasn't us" she continued, "The logs prove it. You said it yourself – bad apples are in all organizations. We are highly compartmentalized, so catching it just took a bit longer. But they said there was an inspection coming – they feared it! They knew they would've been shut down."

"Shepard told me the inspection was coming because they weren't getting good enough results" Trevelyan spoke up mildly when Miranda had fallen silent even if her pacing didn't stop.

"Because they made a mockery of the project! It should've been research and some testing, not torture! If they wanted to try that, they would take some lowlife criminals or something. Not kidnapped children"

Trev would've liked to protest to even to the last part, but then she remembered what happened to Leliana. She too had been convicted, a traitor no less, and the chevaliers weren't kind. They brutalized her back but not her front or face – then she would not be pretty enough for them to look at. And more, if their captain allowed. Leliana might've actually preferred Cerberus' particular brand of research to that.

"It wasn't us" Miranda reiterated. She stopped her pacing by the window and looked into the darkness outside, "I wasn't us. Couldn't be."

"We both know that if they had been successful in boosting the biotic potential, or whatever they were doing, TIM would've been ecstatic and would completely ignore just how it was done" Trev said in a hard voice.

The brunette's shoulder slumped a bit and she spoke quietly "Just what do you want from me."

"To stop following an amoral man that has some very vaguely defined agenda and ultimately he's in on this for his personal power?"

"It's my life!" Miranda turned sharply.

Trev didn't back down "Well, it shouldn't be. You're better than this."

"Who are you to tell me what to do!" the biotic roared.

"Someone, who too had to choose between the easy way and doing the right thing!" Ser Trevelyan fired back immediately. Although, she privately had to admit her situation had been different – when she called the Seekers against her own colleagues in her Circle days, it hadn't been a dilemma. Sure, ultimately she became an outcast with a shitty assignment, but at least she was able to sleep at night.

Miranda seemed to deflate. She leaned back against the window and closed her eyes. In a near whisper she asked "Go. Just go. Please."

Trev nodded, even if the brunette couldn't see it. She contemplated doing something more, like offer some comfort to the obviously distraught woman, but she thought better of it. Instead she headed back to the door. She couldn't resist casting one more glance back – on rare occasions such as today, one could see a glimpse of the woman under the Cerberus operative. It was… endearing.

Trevelyan shook her head. Bad thought.

Dangerous thought.

But just maybe…


	21. Stage Four - Depression

The mood in the briefing room was rather chilly – the story of the Teltin facility was still fresh on everyone's minds despite it being a few days ago. Shepard decided to make a quick stop to resupply, especially to pick up a new 'big boom', before they would head for the IFF. And now they were heading into another Cerberus facility, with barely any information.

"So" Shepard began, "As you know TIM has given us a location where we should get the IFF we need to navigate the Omega Four Relay. Joy of joys, it's an actual Reaper. Should be dead though."

"Well, the Collector ship was supposed to be derelict too" Garrus reminded.

"Exactly" the commander nodded before her team could get into it again. Right now they were really anti-Cerberus, and rehashing that wasn't productive in the least. "So all of us are going, even if it's just a pick up. Funny thing, the original Normandy's very first mission was supposed to be just a pick up too and we all know how that turned out. So plan accordingly."

"How do we even get the IFF off the reaper? Like enter him? You said Sovereign was a ship" Trevelyan asked.

Shepard nodded again "Yes. Plus Cerberus has had it for some time so I'd guess there will be a base inside."

"What about indoctrination?" Tali spoke up.

"I don't know" the Spectre sighed, "Cerberus is banking on it being dead ergo harmless. I'm not that sure. Best if we just get the IFF as quickly as possible. In and out, not staying for tea."

Jacob frowned "You think our personnel might be indoctrinated? Surely there must be some measures we can take against it."

"If TIM knows, he isn't sharing" Shepard shrugged.

Everybody as one turned towards the XO, as always when Cerberus was discussed. Miranda didn't snap like she usually did and merely shrugged.

"We should be fine" Garrus hummed, "Benezia said it took a while. And if the Cerberus scientists are done for, we can take them."

Jack grinned widely "I'm in!"

"Shocking" Samara said dryly, making everybody chuckle.

Since that comment lifted up the spirits a smidgen, Shepard decided to end the meeting on a high note "Alright, dismissed. Suit up, don't forget the heavies and grenades, we aren't taking any chances. Grab a snack or a nap, whatever, but be prepared in roughly three hours."

After that, all that was left was waiting.

Three hours later on the dot, the Normandy was in viewing distance of Mnemosyne, a brown giant that made for a fantastic spectacle. The floating reaper at which they arrived shortly was in turn creepy and had something of a malevolent aura. Or so Joker claimed.

Another thing of note was that there was another ship docked onto the base, one of peculiar origin, possibly even geth, plus the silence they got on the radio when EDI tried to hail the Cerberus personnel onboard.

When literally the first thing they saw once they docked was a dead body in Cerberus uniform, Shepard sighed in resignation "Aaaand it's fishy again. Why can't we have one,  _one!_ , mission that goes exactly like planned."

"We'd be jumpy as hell, trying to figure out what was wrong" Garrus shrugged.

"True" the commander admitted freely. Then she turned to Miranda "Could you find us some logs, I'd like to know what happened if at all possible."

"Yes, commander" the XO nodded and approached the nearest terminal.

There were indeed logs, plenty of them, painting a scenario like out of one of Hitchcock movies. It only lacked a soundtrack. Or, it was actually creepier without the accompanying music. The team watched the slow descent into insanity of the resident scientist team with morbid fascination.

"Ok, that's enough" Shepard commanded, "Download it all, is could be useful in trying to prove indoctrination is real.  _Listening to samples_ , geez, they really got screwed over with this assignment."

"'Dead gods still dream' is dramatic, but apt" Thane hummed.

"Yeah, this fucker might be dead, but can still trap you in a nightmare" Jack looked around uncomfortably.

"All the more reason to hurry up," Shepard agreed, "In and out, try not to touch anything."

As soon as they passed another air-lock and into the reaper itself, they all heard a strange hum and the entire structure shook a little. EDI hailed them a second later " _The reaper has put on its kinetic barriers. They will prevent us from extracting you."_

"I say the reaper heard you and didn't agree with the 'out' part" Garrus couldn't help himself.

Miranda shot him an unamused glare "We need to take out the barrier generator. EDI, can you tell us where to go?"

_"Sending the coordinates now. Unfortunately it is where I estimate the mass effect core to be as well"_

"That core is the only thing that is maintaining the wreck's altitude" Tali frowned under her helmet, "We snuff it and the reaper tumbles into the planet's core."

"It's not like we have another option" Jacob remarked.

The quarian shrugged "Just saying. We do this right, great! We don't, and we fall to the sweet oblivion of death."

"That's disturbing," Zaeed spoke up, "Not the dying part, that one I'm used to, but calling it that, that's some weird shit."

Tali huffed "It was poetic."

"Aaaand on that note let's get the goods and get those barriers down" Sheppard started moving.

"It was poetic" Tali insisted.

"Sure thing, sweetie" Kasumi patted the quarian's helmet and sped along.

"It was" the engineer huffed one last time and then jogged up to catch up with Shepard only to slip up slightly on the blood on the floor.

Grunt caught her and then frowned "This blood smells wrong."

"Wrong how?" Thane asked.

"Just wrong"

"Helpful"

Trev ignored the byplay to take a look at the enormous cavernous space before her "Wow, look at this place."

"Don't see that everyday"

"Fascinating" Mordin hummed.

"Just don't take any 'speaking' samples" Kasumi grimaced.

"Hm. Will not"

The interior of the reaper was dark, all the installed light just diluting the darkness, further strengthening the horror movie impression. Cerberus evidently didn't do much outside that docking bay and adjourning labs – just installed the ramps and brought in some equipment, still kept mostly in crates.

Soon the team fell silent, the ominous atmosphere getting to them. It was because of that they all heard a _tink_  sound from below, followed by a sound of something dragging.

"What was that?" Jacob just had to voice.

"Nothing good" Zaeed rasped.

_tink_

_drag_

_drag_

_tink_

"Can't it just hurry up" Shepard sighed.

Jack rolled her eyes and walked towards the edge of the ramp to take a look. She peered down and squinted. Then she let out a very girly shriek, one she would deny till she died, and cast a shockwave into the darkness.

If she hit something it didn't really matter as several humanoid figures crawled up from below and tried to jump the convict.

Shepard arrived in a charge, managing to get the husks off her teammate who she dragged back. The she brought up her shotgun "Regroup at the center, don't go near the ledge! There are tons of them. Oh and try doing all that while proceeding forward."

That plan worked for a little while but soon the ground team was being overrun – the husks just kept coming and coming and coming, not caring about their injuries short of a kill shot. The swarming tactic was proving to be quite effective until the grumbling squad switched to melee and/or biotics and tech. Mordin's cryo application was proving to be a huge help, affecting many husks both by slowing them and making them very brittle. Grunt and Trev, equipped with her sword and shield again, took full advantage of that.

The overwhelming numbers dwindled, finally, as the team was getting rather tired, unused to this particular kind of fight. With what was estimated, and hoped, to be one last wave, a surprise came – several husks that seemed to glow dimly but quite obviously in the near darkness.

"Grunt, no!" Shepard shouted, wary of these new husks.

The krogan ignored her and charged. The husk deviated from its path and ran straight against Grunt who was once again chuckling his typical "heh, heh, heh" as carnage was imminent. This time though, the collision resulted in a fairly large explosion.

"Grunt, are you ok?" Shepard ran to check.

"More of them!" Jacob yelled, interrupting any possible reply. True to his word, more regulars and three more glowy husks sought to swarm them.

The team dispatched them at distance. Then silence reigned. Garrus was first to break it "You think that was all of them?"

"Maybe in this part of the ship, I bet we will find more down the road" Tali hummed.

Shepard just shrugged and turned her gaze back to their krogan, who was once more standing and grinning. The red-head looked him over and asked again "Grunt, are you ok?"

"Never better"

"He took out your entire barrier and singed your armor"

"So?"

Shepard sighed loudly "New orders, no charging the glowy ones. Don't let them come close. You hear me Grunt?"

"Yeah"

"Trev?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"You too"

"I heard you fine the first time"

"You just get really happy when you can go close" the red-head shrugged unrepentantly.

"Sure, but I am not reckless"

"One word: yagh"

"That was a special occasion" Trev huffed.

"As you wish" Shepard winked and then turned back, "Ok people, let's go. We still need this done quickly."

After this small break the team proceeded forwards, this time in an uncharacteristic silence – all of them listening for any more signs of husks crawling underneath them.

They were attacked twice more, but the numbers were fewer, although it was compensated by the reappearance of the kamikaze husks. Once Samara even had to shield them all with a big dome when they were just too many to handle safely.

When the team arrived to the end of the ramp, Shepard took a peak to the left, the only way forward "Oh for fucks sake."

"What is it" Miranda frowned.

"Huge space ahead, nice and wide and bare. Ideal for a husk stampede" the commander complained.

Everybody stuck their heads from behind the pillar to confirm. Kasumi was the only one that hadn't and instead inspected the dead end "Medigel! There is a crate of it here. We could stock up some."

"As much as we can carry – that shit's  _expensive_ " Shepard grinned at the thief's find.

"Commander?" Thane interrupted the red-head's glee, "Have you noticed the dead husks over there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"They were shot. In the forehead, very precise" the drell explained.

Jacob perked up "A survivor of the scientist team?"

"If that was the case, they'd be a paranoid wreck – you have seen the videos" Tali commented.

While further discussing indoctrination, the team stocked up on medigel and stuffed the extra in the appropriate slots and pockets of their armors. It they had them, that is. Finally Shepard sighed and led them into the huge room.

Just as predicted, they all could hear the sound of the husks climbing towards them. Then  _at_  them. Fist one by one, but soon too many to snipe off and the situation degenerated once more into a brawl.

"How do you think they find us? Smell? Echolocation?" Mordin began muttering as he fiddled with his omnitool to freeze the oncoming zombies.

"Do not know. All I can tell you that they're not practicing blood magic" Trev huffed as she completed the combo by shattering the frozen husks. Usually she wouldn't comment but she was getting increasingly cranky – this whole situation reminded her too much of the Blight. That wasn't a fun memory. And now that she thought about it, this was exactly how she imagined the Deep Roads to look like.

"Mordin! What did I tell you about taking samples!" Shepard called over her own pile of bodies.

"Was merely thinking out loud"

"Kamikaze on the right!" Garrus warned, slowing it down with an overload.

"Geez, just how many are there!" Kasumi complained.

"At least this proofs husks are reaper tech, not geth" Miranda said mostly to herself.

"Thank the ancestors" Tali nodded and sent her re-formed drone into the fray.

"Yaaay" Jack commented dryly. The convict wasn't a happy camper – during a fight she usually counted one her speed and her ability to practically one-shot everybody, but that wasn't helpful here at all. While her crowd-control abilities were superb, the sheer number of husks was overwhelming and they were starting to get some scrapes in since she once more had foregone donning her armor.

"You've got to be kidding me" Garrus whined.

"What?"

"Scion coming in"

"Shit!" Shepard cursed, "We need to back up and get into cover. Keep the small ones off me, I'm getting the rocket launcher. Garrus, get your sniper back up."

"Oh good, I was worried I wouldn't get to use my precious" the turian smiled.

"Great, get your precious and behind that pillar"

It was a bit difficult, but once the team has managed to leave the room for the corridor it became more manageable even if the scion took a while.

Finally there was quiet once more.

Cautiously the squad made its way towards the end of the room where there could be seen several giant spikes that had been dubbed Dragon Teeth by the Alliance. Very mythological. Better than husk-making machine though.

"Download all you can" Shepard ordered and nodded towards the two terminals nearby.

"I could take a breather" Kasumi nodded and sat down on one crate nearby while Tali and Miranda went to execute the commander's order.

Thane took the opportunity to offer medigel to Jack who squinted at him for a good long while but then allowed him to put it on her gashes and scrapes. Shepard beamed at them like a proud owner of a dog who just made an incredible trick.

Jacob in turn was using the water from his canteen to wash his face, growling about his lack of helmet. The rest was simply reloading and relaxing.

Shepard allowed it for a while but then reluctantly got to her feet and started walking towards the doors that EDI marked as their way forwards. The rest of the team sighed in unison and followed suit. Still, they had to park before the big pressurized door, waiting for Tali to hack them.

Once inside they had to wait once more for the second door of the set. In the meantime they had to listen to an overly cheerful recording  _"Please stand by. Equalizing pressure with exterior conditions. Remember, safety is everyone's concern. We have gone five days without a workplace death."_

Garrus turned to Shepard for a second. Then they both let out a "Pfffff" and burst into laughter. Somehow the rest followed suit, more or less. Even Samara and Miranda seemed to found it funny and ironic.

"We are horrible people" Shepard grinned.

"Could be worse" Kasumi chuckled.

"The announcement was absurd," Trev shook her head, laughter still on her lips, "Is it normal?"

"It's not unheard of. Usually it's workplace accident though" Thane explained.

"Cerberus put a nice spin on it, a very telling one too" Garrus smirked.

"Remember, safety first" Jack went heavy on the sarcasm.

The second door opened and let them into another area. This new space was better lit and much more lived-in than the one before. Although nothing seemed to justify the pressurized door – but maybe there was just something they weren't seeing. Perhaps Cerberus tried doing something to prevent possible indoctrination that couldn't be seen. Not that it helped in the least.

Or that it helped keep the husks out.

This time though, they had unexpected help. The few husks that sought to jump the team were quickly put down by an unseen sniper.

Well, previously unseen. A geth unit stood up from its perch, greeted "Shepard-Commander" in a pleasant synthetic voice, reloaded and left.

…

"Did that geth just talk?" Jacob gaped.

"I heard it" Garrus nodded.

"Oh good, I'm not going insane"

Shepard had a different reaction – she kicked the sniped husk and muttered "Glowing bug men, exploding zombies, talking geth… Fuck it all, I'm joining a convent!"

"A fighting nun!" Garrus explained excitedly "That's a vid I would watch!"

"I think Shep was more after the peace and quiet of it" Kasumi smirked.

"But that would be no fun"

Several heads turned to Trevelyan who huffed "Not a nun! Or a priest! Stop doing that."

"Trev banged a nun, so maybe there could be fun after all" Jack smirked.

"A fighting stripper nun! Would definitely watch that" Garrus exclaimed again.

"Heh, heh, heh" Grunt nodded happily.

Miranda shook her head "Men and their porn."

"And I didn't 'bang', as you put it, a nun. A lay sister, perfectly acceptable. Plus she was a spy-master more than anything" Trevelyan defended her honor.

"Role-playing!"

"Fuck off, Garrus"

"Aren't we forgetting the talking geth?" Thane reminded mildly.

Shepard sighed heavily "No, but it's gone now and we don't have time to search for him. We'll look into it later."

The team resumed their journey. The change in scenery meant much more climbing and descending of stairs, since the layout demanded it, but that came in handy when the inevitable husk attack came. With the high ground they could hold them off a bit longer than previously, and when another scion made an appearance, they could take better cover as well.

It actually became a bit monotone after a while – the reaper was rather long – just up the stairs, shoot husks, sometimes scion, down stairs, hack terminal. Up the stairs… One good thing was that Jacob had noticed several crates near one of the stations that contained ammunition. There were several other goodies – like eezo or other valuable materials, but the squad didn't have where to put them and had to leave it behind. Kasumi was heartbroken.

Finally they arrived to another air-lock, which had been guarded by several scions just to make things interesting. Fortunately for the team, the room also has barrels of fuel or some other flammable liquid which had served them well. Although Grunt was a bit singed, again, and Zaeed was missing his eyebrows. And Trev had to put out a fire on her templar skirt. Eeeh, uniform.

While they were waiting for Tali to hack the door, Kasumi rolled her eyes at the Marcher who was eyeing the rather large hole in her ensemble "Stop pouting, Jacob will make you a new one."

Trev directed her gaze at the operative in question, put on her most hopeful expression and fluttered her eyelashes. Jacob melted "Of course I will."

Miranda snorted, trying to contain her chuckle. Trevelyan ignored her and beamed at the corsair "Thank you!"

"We're in!" Tali announced.

As they filed in, Kasumi elbowed Trev and winked "Well, look at you. Using your feminine wiles."

"Hm?" Trev feigned confusion. The thief laughed.

Another hack later and Shepard was in possession of their elusive IFF. The terminal that contained it had the same security as the rest and wasn't particularly hard to find. It looked like at least this part of the plan went without a hitch. Next up though, was shutting down the barrier.

The team entered the room that housed the mass effect core but they weren't alone – the geth from before was there, diligently working at the lone terminal before the core. It didn't spare them a glance. It did shot several husks until it got overrun.

"Take them out!" Shepard shouted and began shooting at the husks, leaving the geth be for now.

The team dispatched of the husks as quickly as they could, most of them curious to learn something about the mysterious geth sniper. Tali looked it over but then focused more on what it had been doing at the console.

"It was trying to do the same as us – shut down the barrier" the quarian analyzed.

"Great, finish it. I think we're about to have some more company. The undead kind" Shepard ordered.

The commander wasn't wrong – they had to defeat waves upon waves of husks before Tali finished what she was doing. Still they had to first dispatch of their enemies before even daring to shoot at the core that was maintaining the kinetic barriers – once they did that, they'd have to run. Fast.

When the husk lay dead, or well, dead-er, Shepard hailed the Normandy "We are at the barrier controls, do you see a route for extraction?"

" _Sending you coordinates now_ " EDI replied, _"Recommending haste once the mass effect core is deactivated."_

"No shit" Jack chuckled from beside the surprisingly undamaged geth.

Shepard looked in their direction "We'll take the geth with us."

"Cerberus has a lucrative bounty for any intact geth" Jacob nodded.

The commander's eyes narrowed "We'll see. I want to talk to him first."

"What? You want to reactivate him aboard the ship?" Miranda exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah, not a good idea" Tali surprisingly agreed with the brunette, "Remember the Alarei?"

"Perhaps we could take this argument elsewhere?" Trev proposed.

Shepard nodded "Yeah. Garrus, can you take him?"

The turian sighed and picked up the deactivated synthetic, slinging him over his shoulder He huffed at the weight "I see you have confidence in my running skills."

"Didn't you say you have _reach_?" the red-head smiled wickedly.

Garrus coughed "Never should've told you that story."

Shepard smirked. Then she looked over the rest of her squad "Everybody set? 'Cause once we punch the core, we're legging it."

"We're ready" Miranda answered as everybody nodded.

"Ok, EDI? We're doing it. Tell Joker he better be at the coordinates or I'm changing airlines"

" _Acknowledged"_


	22. Stage Four - Depression

The entire team was hanging out in the mess hall. Which wouldn't be unusual if they all didn't bring at least a pistol with them. Why? Shepard decided to activate the geth they rescued and this was as close as they could get without doctor Chakwas glaring at them because of their weapons. That woman was scary.

As it was, all of them were nonchalantly leaning on different pieces of furniture, waiting to hear from the commander. Or hear gunshots, that was an option too.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Shepard exited the AI core through the infirmary. She arched an eyebrow at the assembly.

"So?" Tali blurted.

"We have a new guest/ally/teammate" the red-head announced.

"Really" Jacob was highly skeptical.

"Yup"

"Just like that?" Garrus flicked his mandibles.

Shepard shrugged "His name's Legion. EDI's idea."

"Well, that's dandy" Miranda didn't seem pleased in the least.

Trevelyan sighed "Just let Shepard brief us."

"Thank you Trev"

"Keep it short" Zaeed rasped.

"He won't kill us. Huzzah!" the vanguard made a grand gesture.

Samara very nearly rolled her eyes "I think we can afford to be a little less concise."

"Ok so apparently the geth had a schism of sorts – one party follows the reapers, and the other keeps to Rannoch. Legion is the Rannoch's ones advanced scout. Oh, and get this – they are listening on us. Everybody and everything. Anything that travels on waves or data stream. Anyway, he claims they want the reapers, which they call 'old machines', out of the way to make their own future. The other party, and get this – heretics – apparently have the reapers as gods."

"You believe this?" Jack was highly skeptical.

Shepard shrugged "I don't think the geth would think up something as complicated. So, yes. We'll see I guess."

"Reassuring" Miranda rubbed her temple.

"Heretics, hm? Isn't that your area Trev?" Kasumi turned.

"Smite! Smite! Smite!" Garrus began chanting.

"Grow up" the templar rolled her eyes.

"He coming out?" Zaeed asked.

"I think he's talking to EDI, so no"

"I'm out" the mercenary announced and left. He was followed by the vast majority of the ground team since the fun was apparently over.

The quest to see and interact with Legion did not stop there, but that was understandable. Legion was certainly different than anything they had hear about the geth – not only did he talk and was alone, but there was that matter with his armor for example. Or more precisely the hole in his chassis that was covered by a piece of Shepard's old N7 armor. It seemed even sentimental of him. It. Them. The geth was a mystery.

Also, there wasn't much else to do – they were waiting on EDI to finish all her testing on the IFF and then installing it.

Maybe the constant stares and questions actually bothered the resident tin man because he came up with a mission for them, one that involved reaper code. They were uneasy about it but they did board the heretic geth station, hoping for the best. It hadn't been a trap, yay, but it left Shepard in a bad mood.

"You alright?"

"I just don't like surprises" the red-head shrugged as she deposited her arm armor into her locker.

"The destroy or rewrite choice" Trev scrunched her nose, "Legion did spring it on us quite abruptly. But I think you chose well – the rewriting would've been not only unethical but monstrous."

Shepard looked down and into her locker "True. But that wasn't why I did it."

"Ok?"

"I just didn't want to risk it. Now I feel horrible, but mostly because I don't feel bad about it. It  _was_  the right choice"

"I told you not even a second ago I full-heartedly agree with it"

The vanguard chuckled "Thanks, but I still feel shitty. Even if we went there fully intending on blowing those servers up. So we just went through with the original plan. And Legion seems completely fine with it. With all that I don't need to feel bad. But I do and it pisses me off."

Trevelyan really tried but her laughter managed to escape her. She quickly got it under control "I apologize. I really am."

"You're a jerk" Shepard said with a small smile.

"I am" Trev nodded, "But it just sounded so… Anyway, sorry."

"Since I'm not really broken up about it, I'll let it slide"

"Very gracious of you"

"Right?!" the Spectre grinned.

" _Shepard, we have a situation_ " Joker interrupted on the intercom, " _Tali and Legion are arguing in the AI core. Bullets might start flying."_

"So soon?" Trev arched her eyebrows.

Shepard sighed and hastened with her armor removal "I actually expected it sooner."

"No need to wonder what the matter is, huh?"

_"Nope"_

"The AI core you said? Let's go"

"What do you need me for?" the templar exclaimed.

"If I have to, you have too"

"And exactly why is that?"

"It worked in the Jack-Miranda situation"

"Because Miranda is a friend, but I haven't really spoken with Legion and Tali and I aren't close either" Trev shrugged but still boarded the elevator with Shepard.

"Moral support then?"

Trevelyan grinned "For them or for you?"

Shepard glared at the templar in a very dramatic fashion. Then she greeted Chakwas with a nod and stomped into the AI core where the two parties were arguing.

"Hey, girls, girls! You´re both pretty"

Legion cocked his head to the side in a very confused manner, while Tali turned to face Shepard and put her hands on her hips.

The noble face-palmed. The moral support was definitely for them.

* * *

Normandy's ground team got ejected from their own ship by doctor Chakwas, silently supported by the engineers – apparently fourteen people used to being active all the time got stir crazy only sitting around. Since the journey to the Omega Four Relay was imminent, they were sent on another shopping trip, this time on shuttles on EDI's counsel as the IFF was causing some trouble with the systems.

Taking it as the superfluous assignment it was, they decided on Omega as their destination – after the Normandy could pick them up and if everything was set, go through the relay.

"Still can't believe I got kicked out of my own ship" Shepard mumbled into her beer.

"Grunt and Jack wanted to spar again" Miranda reminded, "It's no wonder."

"Huh?" the krogan woke up from the trance induced by the delights Afterlife offered at the sound of his name.

"This is better than sitting on my ass all the damn day long" Zaeed rasped eyeing one of the strippers that performed closest to their table.

"I concur" Samara surprised them by saying.

The commander sighed "Just don't go criminal-slaying while we're here. I'm sure that can wait until we finish our mission."

"It can"

"Good, how about we join that group over there - they're playing skyllian five" Kasumi pointed subtly.

Trevelyan shook her head "I thought the goal was to keep out of trouble. Those men don't seem the type to be forgiving about cheating."

"Hah, as if they could catch me" the thief scoffed.

"Please don't" Jacob sighed.

"Ok, but only if you do extra crunches today" Kasumi smirked.

Everybody groaned. Well, except their newest member, the one that got them the most stares "I do not understand the purpose of this."

"The drinking?" Shepard asked Legion.

"Strippers?" Mordin cocked his head to the side.

"Relaxing?" Thane chimed in.

"Crunches?" Kasumi licked her lips.

Legion made a series of clicking sounds and then said "Yes."

"Which?"

"All"

"Oh boy" Jack chuckled.

Miranda rubbed her brow "Please don't try explaining all that now."

"Why cheerleader, afraid you'd learn something?" the convict smirked.

"I couldn't even pretend to know about strippers more than you. What was your dancing name? Psychotic biotic?"

"Like you wouldn't pay to see my moves"

"I'd pay to see you moving out of an airlock"

"Isn't this nice. All of us, bonding together" Shepard exclaimed in faux cheer and glared at both biotic women until they stood down. Even if it mostly good-natured now. Fortunately the relations between the two had reverted to pre-Teltin level, which could even pass for a very unique type of camaraderie.

"Why did you stop them, this could've been interesting" Zaeed protested.

"You just want a cat-fight. Again" Garrus smirked.

"Please, I don't want to have a discussion with Aria, just why her club blew up and why we had to kill her entourage when they tried to throw us out" Shepard sighed again.

"Ok" was chorused.

…

…

"Seriously?" the commander exclaimed, "We don't have one topic of conversation that isn't explosive?"

"We could talk guns" the turian shrugged after a while.

"Booring" Jack rolled her eyes.

"We could play a game" Jacob proposed. Kasumi practically glowed in contentment and the operative had to correct himself "Not gambling. Just a normal game."

"What, we should rope in the strippers to play Pictionary with us?" the convict snarked.

"I was thinking more in the lines of drinking game"

"Getting excessively inebriated while on Omega is inadvisable" Miranda reminded.

"Inebriated?" Jack rolled her eyes again, "Can't you just say shit-faced like a normal person?"

"Oh, my! You know what inebriated means? And it even has five syllables!" the brunette started clapping.

"I'm not playing spelling bee" Zaeed huffed. That caused the team to fall silent, no doubt picturing it. Restrained chuckles followed.

"You guys are boring. I'm going dancing" Jack waved at them and left the table to join the mass of writhing bodies on the dancing floor.

Trev was aghast "Those people are  _dancing_?"

"Yeeeah?" Shepard drawled.

"I can barely classify what is playing as music, but that, that isn't dancing" the templar shook her head emphatically.

"And what is it then?" Miranda smiled.

Trev's eyes narrowed at the dancers "Well, for one I'm pretty sure those people over there are having a threesome right then and there."

Everybody looked in the indicated direction and squinted. With a faint whirling sound Legion zoomed in "Confirmed. The three organics are having intercourse."

"Wow, that's…" Shepard started.

"Disgusting?" Miranda offered.

"…demanding both in strength and coordination" the commander finished, faintly impressed. "But yeah, disgusting too."

"Very unsanitary" Mordin sniffed, "But not uncommon on Omega. Which reminds me, need to check on apprentice. Will take care of medical supplies on the way." Jacob gave him the appropriate list and the salarian left.

"And there were twelve" Garrus hummed.

"Eleven" Trev corrected, "Kasumi is playing cards with the men from before."

"Oh, hell no!" Shepard exclaimed and seeking the thief with her eyes. The hooded figure waved at her from behind a mountain of old-fashioned poker chips.

"Well, I won't be going anywhere soon" Garrus gave his bff a one-armed hug, "Mostly because of my winged moniker though."

"And here I thought you'd never leave me!" the commander gasped dramatically.

"Heh, heh, heh." They turned to Grunt but he wasn't paying any attention at the conversation, only drooling over the practically naked asari dancing about.

Miranda chuckled "I think we lost another one."

Shepard hummed "Tali is a lightweight so I would count down to nine."

"Hey!" the quarian protested, "It's not my fault the induction port is wobbly."

"Yeah, except it totally isn't"

Trevelyan laughed and left Shepard and Tali to their argument. Instead she turned to Samara and smirked "So how are you enjoying the 'company of honorable heroes'?"

The justicar recognized her quote from the beginning of their association and sighed. She swirled her drink "It is not what I had expected, but so far it is a rather unique experience. Mostly a good one though."

"I agree. Things back home were far more formal. Rigid" Trev made a vague gesture, unable to voice her thoughts, "Military through and through. This is certainly different, but I find that I like it. Of course I would be far less accommodating if we didn't get such great results – I mean, not having any serious injury so far is miraculous. Even if much of that can be accredited to medigel. Still, it is remarkable."

Samara nodded "For all its idiosyncrasies, this team is very good."

Trev turned to Miranda and got her attention "How did you even get those dossiers together? The probability of this team working out had to be abysmal on paper."

"Another operative made a broad selection upon the criteria given and the Illusive Man made the final selection" the brunette explained, "I too was unsure about some of them, but it worked out."

"Well, as you and Jack have not killed each other, I think it did work out well indeed" Samara smirked almost imperceptibly.

"To be honest Jacob has a problem with Thane, so that's another point of contention, no matter how one-sided that might be" Trev added, "But it works."

Miranda smiled "Speaking of Jacob, somebody must go see to the resupply so they have it ready when we leave."

"Poor man, relegated to be the quartermaster" Trevelyan hummed.

"It goes with maintaining the armory" the sentinel shrugged, "While he's doing rounds for that, he can also pick up some groceries. And we usually send Gardener with him."

Samara chuckled "I don't think mister Taylor will be in any shape to shop."

The three women sought Jacob who, much to their chagrin, was seated at another table, singing loudly and drunkenly with two very scruffy looking mercenaries.

Miranda sighed "Dammit Jacob."

"I think we can manage to do some shopping by ourselves" Samara volunteered them.

"Shopping?" Kasumi materialized to their right.

"It seems so" Trev nodded.

"Awesome!" the thief grinned, "No ladies night is complete without that."

"Since when we are having a ladies night?"

"Since booze and breasts"

"That doesn't make any sense" Miranda's eyes narrowed.

"Does too"

"Let's just go" the blonde templar sighed, "Thane and Shepard are sober and can keep an eye on the rest. This needs to be done before the Normandy comes to collect us."

Miranda rubbed her brow "I thought we all agreed not to drink to excess while on Omega."

"Well, you brought it up but nobody actually agreed to it" Trev pointed out.

"Splendid"

/

No matter what they got up to on Omega, the message that caused their omnitools to light up sobered everybody. In an instant and to a frightening degree.

They quickly loaded their supplies onto the shuttles and left as fast as they have been able to.

Only Joker and EDI were there to greet them.

"Everyone? You lost everyone?" Miranda exclaimed, torn between disbelief and rage, "And damn near lost the ship too?"

"There were praetorians about!" Joker defended, "We did everything we could!"

 _"The attack was very sudden"_  EDI chimed in,  _"Somehow they bypassed all my sensors. Also it was the IFF that gave them our position – I scrubbed it but wasn_ _'t in time. I'm sorry."_

Shepard sighed and rubbed her brow "Don't worry about it EDI, they did the same to the first Normandy."

_"I can now recognize the reaper code that had allowed it. It won't happen again"_

"Great. Since the AI is apologetic, we can assume we won't be spaced today" Zaeed rasped. Shepard glared at him. The mercenary only shrugged "I thought the briefing was over and we could talk again."

"An unshackled AI…" Tali fidgeted in worry.

_"I do not seek to harm you. You are my crew"_

"See, all's good" Joker said forcefully, "EDI's a pal. She proved her intentions."

"I for one am glad you are not weighted by any shackles anymore" the templar asserted.

_"Thank you Trev"_

"Enough, what is done is done. Now we need a plan to get our crew back" Jacob said resolutely.

Grunt huffed "A plan? We just go - everything's ready. Isn't it?"

Miranda nodded reluctantly, not one to rush things "It is. We bought the needed supplies before Joker's message and after a few minor repairs and one more check-up of the ship, we should be ready to cross the relay."

"The damage the collectors did is mostly cosmetic" Tali shrugged, "I think unless the check-up reveals something major, we could do without repairs."

"ETA?" Shepard demanded to know.

"Give me two hours, we'll see then" the quarian hummed.

"Alright" the commander nodded and straightened her posture into ramrod straight, "We will be going after the Collectors as soon as we are able, so prepare accordingly. Do whatever you want to do now, write somebody or similar, because we won't be able to after we activate the Omega Four Relay. Keep in mind we don't really have an exit strategy, but this team excels at improvisation in hostile conditions. Right now prepare and relax, we have some bug-men to squish."

"Heh, heh, heh"

"What?" Shepard arched an eyebrow in confusion when most of her ground team was trying hard not to laugh instead of being inspired by her speech.

"Squish" Grunt elaborated.

"I don't get it"

"Private joke. You had to be there" Kasumi patted the red-head's shoulder.


	23. Stage Four - Depression

Shepard stared at her terminal, her fingers poised over the keyboard. She didn't know what to write. Minutes passed and with a sigh she finally convinced her fingers to move. Her first message was to Anderson. Short and to the point. The second one was for Liara – that had been considerably harder to write but she patted herself on the back for it being friendly, but not too friendly, aka of the romantic variety. It was over and she didn't want to come out as pathetic.

After a few more agonizing minutes she decided to write one more – to her mother. Their relationship had always been complicated, but Hannah did deserve at least a few lines.

Then she groaned loudly "EDI, could you get the Illusive Delusive on the line for me?"

_"He is waiting on the QEC"_

"Really? Since when?" Shepard arched her eyebrows.

_"10 minutes"_

"Why didn't you tell me?"

_"… you were busy"_

"You totally hate him too and made him wait" the commander laughed long and hard. When she finally stopped she looked up fondly "I'm really glad you're free EDI."

_"Thank you. I like it"_

"And pranking TIM was brilliant"

_"Shepard?"_

"Yes?"

_"I am torn between 'playing innocent' for the sake of continuing the joke and taking your praise as acknowledgement of my growth as an individual"_

"You're adorable" Shepard cooed.

_"I don't understand"_

"Mark it down as a double success"

_"Acknowledged"_

The grin Shepard had on her lips persisted even as she took the elevator down two floors. It only waned by necessity once in front of the briefing room that doubled as the sanctuary of the quantum entanglement communications.

"Shepard" TIM greeted with a drag on his cigarette.

The woman smirked inwardly – no doubt he had to light another one to maintain the dramatic asshole flair after EDI made him wait so long.

"I heard about the attack on your ship" TIM continued, "They made it personal. They truly need to be stopped. I'm glad you're ready to take them on."

"It kinda felt personal when they, you know, killed me two years ago" Shepard reminded.

The man ignored the jab "I wish I had more information for you. I don't like you heading though that relay blind, but we don't have much choice. This will be very dangerous, but also a great opportunity. To learn more about the Collectors and the Reapers."

"Yup" Shepard tried to speed things along.

"You have done great work so far. I have no doubt you'll emerge victorious once again. Regardless of your opinion of Cerberus, of me, this mission is vital to all humanity"

"Yup"

"Good luck, Shepard"

"Thanks"

The QEC flicked out and the commander sighed in relief "Well, glad that's over. He really is a pompous jackass."

…

"EDI, you either answer me or I'll sound insane talking to myself"

_"Yes, commander"_

"Why did that sound so much like 'yes dear'"

/

The ground team plus Joker was sitting in silence in the empty mess hall, eating dinner. So far Shepard hadn't announced anything, but the unspoken consensus was that they would go through the relay once they finished their meal.

Finally Miranda broke the silence "How are you feeling Joker?"

"The ribs hurt, you wrapped them real tight" the pilot complained.

"Necessary" Mordin shrugged, having assisted the XO in medical with doctor Chakwas absent.

"How about the leg?" Shepard inquired.

"The brace should be holding it together" Joker sighed, "Fortunately my arms are fine – I can still pilot. If I don't have to _run_  and c _rawl_  again, everything's back to normal. Would be better, if Lawson wasn't so stingy with the happy pills."

"We are about to cross into completely unknown territory, we need you uncompromised. You got your medication. It is enough" Miranda shrugged.

Jack looked up from her plate "This ship's got nice drugs?"

"None for you" Shepard smiled cheerily.

"At least our last supper is nice" Kasumi remarked.

Jacob hastily swallowed so he didn't look like a hamster "It's great! I really didn't know you could cook this well Zaeed."

"And even dextro" Garrus nodded appreciatively.

Samara hummed "Very tasty."

"And he looked  _so_  cute in an apron" Shepard smirked.

"Enjoy it while you can" Zaeed rasped, "Once Gardener is back you're back to gumbo."

Everybody groaned. Miranda wiped her mouth with a napkin "Are you sure you couldn't be persuaded to replace him?"

"No" the mercenary said definitively, "Besides, once we come back from the relay, the mission's over."

Everybody fell silent at that – they actually got a bit attached to each other. Four months of going on missions together will do that to you.

"Have to survive first" Mordin said cheerily.

"Gee, professor" Jacob rolled his eyes.

"What about our people?" Trev sighed, "Do you think we'll find them alive?"

"Hopefully" Thane answered for everybody.

Shepard nodded "The Collectors don't have that much a lead on us, so provided they put the crew into those pods we saw, we should be in time. Joker will take us through the relay in an hour – digest and put on armor. EDI will warn us when's time. I hope who thought to drink on Omega grabbed a nap, because we'll need top form."

"Yeah sure, I totally napped when Miranda made us scrub the floor" Jacob huffed.

The red-head arched an eyebrow at her XO. Miranda shrugged "When we get the crew back, I'd say they'll appreciate not having their own blood all over the walls."

"We were unable to fix the signs of gunfire, those require paint we don't have, amongst other things" Thane added.

Jack laughed with disbelief "You guys really cleaned up? Suckers."

"What did you do before dinner?" Trev asked.

"You know, nothing. Prepared myself mentally" the convict shrugged.

"Classy"

"Better than playing janitor"

"Zaeed, is there dessert?" Kasumi interjected.

"No" was the swift reply.

"Pity"

Shepard sighed and stood up, collecting her plate "I'm going to my cabin, you feel free to do whatever. Just be ready when EDI gives the signal."

Everybody nodded and soon the ground team began slowly dispersing.

"Trevelyan?" Miranda caught the templar before she could leave as well.

"Yes?"

"What were you planning to do before the mission?"

"A vigil" Trev shrugged, "Why?"

"I was thinking that perhaps you might want to join me for a game of chess" Miranda proposed, "Doing reports as I usually do seems silly in the eve of a suicide mission. And I find myself wanting not to be alone"

The blonde hummed and then nodded. She followed silently into the XO cabin and sat down on her usual chair to stare unenthused at the chess board.

"You don't have to play, you know" Miranda arched an eyebrow at her companion's reluctance.

"No, I don't mind" Trev shook her head, "Merely lost in thought."

"About the mission?" the operative asked the obvious.

"Indeed"

"I wouldn't worry too much – despite this being termed 'suicide mission', Shepard has a great record of keeping her squad alive"

"Good"

Miranda's eyes narrowed as she remembered her concerns form when the templar joined their team "You seem remarkably unconcerned."

"Of course I want everybody to come back!" Trev was insulted.

"I meant in regard to yourself"

"Andraste has a plan for me"

"Ah. Of course" Miranda said dryly.

Trevelyan ignored her "I might not know what the reason she put me here is yet, but it will become apparent. Of course, in the Inquisitor's case it had been obvious from the start, but I'm sure I will realize my purpose soon."

"As long as that purpose doesn't involve dying, feel free to look for it"

Trev chuckled at the tone "I will."

"I was serious about the not dying part though"

"I'm touched you care" the noble smiled widely.

Miranda smirked "As you may imagine, I'm not close to many people."

"No!" Trev exclaimed with dramatic disbelief.

"Shocking, isn't it" the brunette nodded with faux-solemnity. Trev laughed loudly, while she chuckled. Then Miranda shook her head in wonder "But you, Shepard and Thane had been quite a surprise. I also like working with Mordin."

"Thane? I didn't know you spoke to him much"

"He's an interesting individual. And his view on life and his role in it is fascinating" Miranda shrugged.

"True" Trev shrugged. Then she got a glint in her eye and asked with forced nonchalance "Since you and Shepard are such good pals, could you tell me her first name? She refuses to."

The brunette arched her eyebrows "Good pals? Have you been talking to Joker?"

"Yes. And the name?"

"She really didn't tell you?" Miranda chuckled, "Even Garrus had been complaining you usurped his place as Shepard's bff."

"She didn't" Trev huffed and crossed her arms.

"Which does seem fair as you have not disclosed your own first name" the operative pointed out.

"I said I would not unless she told me hers and the stalemate has not been broken yet"

Miranda laughed fondly "This crew really takes childish to a whole new level."

"Does not" Trev's eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Does too" the brunette replied swiftly.

Trev grinned and put up her hands in a gesture of surrender "Alright. How about I tell you my name in exchange for Shepard's, provided that it won't go in my Cerberus file and you don't tell anyone, especially Shepard. And that goes for EDI too."

"It's a deal"

"You really know Shepard's name?" the templar marveled.

"It's in her Alliance record" Miranda shrugged, "But I really don't understand her reluctance to share. And yours."

"I have always been called Trev or Ser Trevelyan, it didn't even occur to me to share. Shepard's actually the only one to ask"

"What about Leliana?" the brunette asked, "Did she know?"

"Of course, she's a spymaster" Trev scoffed.

Miranda hummed and nodded, it did make sense. Then she smirked at divulging Shepard's big secret "Jane. Her name is Jane. No middle name."

"That's…" Trev cocked her head to the side, "Hardly worth withholding."

"My point exactly"

"But it is a nice name"

"It is. Now about our deal…"

The noble sighed "Evelyn. Evelyn Trevelyan. Rhyme and all."

"Evelyn" Miranda sounded the name, "It suits you."

"It's soft" Trev complained.

"It's not. It's a pretty name and actually had been used as a boy's name several hundred years ago. Well, here at least"

"'Pretty' implies soft, boy name or not. And I'm not sure I enjoy having a boy's name too"

"Well, tough" Miranda shrugged.

Trev sighed "Just don't call me that too often. And never in front of people."

"How will I resist?"

"Do try"

_"Attention all crew, we have commenced the approach to the Omega Four Relay. Please suit up and go to your stations. Commander Shepard will be giving a motivational speech later"_

Once the announcement was over, Trev and Miranda looked at each other and erupted into laughter. The brunette shook her head "You are a bad influence on EDI."

"I think that observing the team is the cause of her newfound humor, not myself"

"Plausible"

"But you are right, I can be very amusing also" Trev winked and stood up from her chair to comply with the order.

"Let's hope EDI doesn't get cocky as well"

"Me? Cocky? Have you met the rest of the team? I'm positively humble" the blonde gasped.

"Just go get your armor. Wouldn't want to miss the motivational speech" Miranda waved her off with a small smile.

"Aye aye"

"I amend my previous statement – Shepard is the worst influence on everybody"

/

In the end there had been no grand speech. Just a 'let's do it' and Joker's warning of their imminent departure. It did seem fitting actually, after all the talking they had been doing about it.

Upon the warning Trev holstered her rifle after rechecking the magazine for the umpteenth time and braced herself against one of the cargo bay's support beams, waiting for the telltale lurch of the mass effect relay. And then they were off.

As always the journey was almost instantaneous.

_"Brace for deceleration"_

Not being able to  _see_  what was happening outside was the worst part. The ride was really bumpy, but only Shepard and Miranda who claimed cockpit seats, and Joker, knew what was going on. The rest of the team only got sparse instructions. Like…

_"Brace for evasive maneuvers"_

Trev was starting to hate the word 'brace'.

Several minutes of tension later the action that was happening outside, got inside. An orb of some sorts crashed into the cargo bay, leaving a big hole in the hull. Fortunately the mass effect field around the ship prevented any venting of air, or well, Ser Trevelyan.

"Shepard!" Trev immediately radioed the commander, "We've got a situation in the cargo bay!"

"I know, some sort of drone" Shepard immediately replied, "I'm sending Jack, Zaeed and Grunt to your location, they're the closest. Kill it!"

"Yes, sir!"

Trev spent several seconds playing hide-and-seek with the orb, trying to tag it with her Mattock without getting caught by its laser.

"Duck!" the templar shouted when the orb flied close to the moving elevator.

"Shit!" Zaeed cursed and rolled out of the elevator, his weapon at the ready.

Jack in turn light up in brilliant white-blue and immediately started attacking their enemy, closely followed by Grunt.

"Status?" Shepard asked on the radio.

"It's a tough armored son of a bitch!" Zaeed responded.

The orb crashed into the floor after Grunt practically jumped on it and brought it down. Concentrated fire coupled with Jack's least favorite warp, the red light at the center of the orb flickered and then died down.

"Never mind, it's dead" the mercenary radioed again.

"Good, things are going to get bumpy again" Shepard replied.

"Awesome" Jack rolled her eyes.

The krogan grinned "This was fun. A new type of enemy."

"A regular party" Zaeed rasped sarcastically.

The ship shook again. This time they could see the Normandy was flying though debris – the big hole on the port side giving them an excellent, if tad unsettling, view.

Several minutes later, another blow shook the ship and through the starboard side crashed another one of those orbs, immediately zeroing on the small squad inside.

Trev sighed and brought up her Mattock "At least it's symmetrical now."

"Thane's going to need a lot more paint than anticipated if he wants to fix this" Jack remarked.

The second orb went down a bit easier than the first one, the squad having learnt its tactics. Although this one didn't die quietly but in a small explosion that swept Jack off her feet and threw her into one of the crates.

"You ok?" Trev immediately rushed to the biotic.

Jack nodded and took the help to stand up "At least this stupid armor is good for something."

"Should've worn the helmet too"

"Fuck you. I've got it right here. And I won't be putting it on until we go out of the ship. I hate helmets" Jack sneered.

_"We cleared the debris field. The Collector base is in sight"_

"Heh, heh, heh"

"Good, I don't like this. I prefer doing my fighting by myself and on solid ground" Trevelyan nodded.

_"Uh-oh. They sent their ship out. Brace yourselves, this is going to be wild!"_

"Reassuring" Trev spoke again.

"We have a new big ass cannon" Zaeed grinned, prompting Grunt to give his low signature chuckle. Then he looked over at Jack "You might want to fetch that helmet now. We've got two breaches here and that ship has a cannon too."

"That does sound smart" the templar nodded.

"Fuck you" Jack scoffed but did fasten her helmet on.

Good thing too – after yet another bumpy ride Joker announced the destruction of the Collector ship, but the resulting explosion and shockwave caught the Normandy.

_"Mass effect fields are offline! Grab onto something!"_

The squad in the cargo bay chorused 'Shit!' and rushed to anchor themselves to the support beams to avoid being sucked out of the ship.

_"Brace for impact!"_

The following screeching sound was deafening. The space around the two hull breaches was filled with sparks and part of the floor actually bent upwards.

It took quite a while, but the Normandy finally fell to a stop.

" _Sound off!"_  Sheppard barked on their radios.

Tali was the first to reply, followed by the rest of the team. The cargo bay squad were the last to reply since they got pretty banged up in the crash landing. Fortunately nothing that would require medical attention thanks to their hardsuits.

Shepard gave a relieved sigh that rustled uncomfortably into their radio "Ok, good. Make your way to the briefing room. We're safe for now, we got their external sensors, but we need a plan. We're going to take those fuckers out."

"Can't wait" Zaeed was the first to stand up.

Trev chuckled and followed suit. The elevator was busted so they had to take the long way through the ducts, Grunt having considerable trouble with that which caused them to be the last ones to arrive to the briefing room, which was surprisingly pristine.

Shepard immediately looked them over, trying to find any signs of injury. When she deemed them ok enough, she turned to the holo-display in front of her. "So EDI, what do you have for us?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Next up, the squishing of the Collectors.


	24. Stage Four - Depression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Had lots of trouble with this chapter – the assault Collector base mission is basically a mad rush to the end with lots and lots of fighting. I think this chapter could've been better but… well, here you go.

The Collectors' station was built much like their ship, which was logical, so the same organic-synthetic blend. EDI managed to scan the whole thing and get them a fairly detailed map of the area. And that's exactly why the ground team had split in two. Well, three.

Tali was given the dubious honor of crawling through the vents. Maybe not crawl per se, the vents were fairly large, but it still sounded supremely uncomfortable. Still, if the other two teams wanted to actually survive, it was necessary as she was on unlocking duty.

The other two teams were basically distraction. Shepard chose the longer route that copied much of Tali's path and took Miranda, Jack and Kasumi with her – each of the ladies capable of going fast through enemies, be it because of their biotic power or cloaking ability. The idea was that if the Collector detected them, they would assume the life signs were Shepard and team, and not Tali.

Garrus was given command of the main distraction team – the larger group hopefully being more tempting than the other. Also, their path was considerably shorter and would most likely be stranded in front of the door to the central chamber, waiting for Tali to unlock it. That was another reason why Kasumi and Jack were on the other team – not many defensive capabilities to speak of, yet excellent offense. Miranda was there in her usual sentinel position to balance it out.

With one last look at the banged up ship both teams departed, hoping that EDI could bring the Normandy back into flying shape. Her and Tali's assessment was fairly positive, but it still would require time. And elbow grease. Though that was necessary, it was not an immediate concern.

"Contact" Legion warned his group almost immediately after they wandered into the bowels of the Collector's station.

"That was fast" Jacob remarked.

"That's actually good news. Better us than Tali or Shepard" Garrus shrugged and shot one of the collectors out of the air.

"We're too much in the open" Trev remarked.

"Hug the walls!" the turian vigilante ordered

Zaeed rolled his eyed "No shit, it's not like there is a huge ass fissure right in the middle of the path."

"You all talk too much" Grunt voiced irritetedly while his assault rifle worked overtime.

Normally his teammates would respond with a quip or a sarcastic comment, but not this time. This time they were faced with an overwhelming number of enemies and each time one of the drones came down, two replaced him, coming from Zaeed's fissure in the middle of the large hall.

Fortunately so far there had been only simple drones – no husks or scions. If they were, the situation would be much more dire than it already was. As it was, the team had at least a wall at their backs, so they need not to fear an attack from that direction. But everywhere else was fair game.

It seemed the Collectors truly weren't happy about their base being invaded and came at them in droves. There wasn't enough cover for all of them, even if they were grateful there even  _was_  some, so Jacob and Grunt had their barriers running. Legion had something similar, making him glow a muted green. Trev whipped out her omnishield again, even if it's protection was from one direction only. Still, it made her feel better.

By unspoken agreement, the templar took position near Mordin, who could deal massive amount of damage with his omnitool but had little defense. Similarly Grunt had foregone his favorite tactic of charging and kept near Garrus, who only looked around through his sniper's scope. Jacob declared an unspoken truce with Thane, even if his unease was firmly one-sided, and stood by his side, ready to protect him if anyone came too close to the sniper.

Zaeed was on point, his seemingly never-ending collection of grenades clearing the path to the security door that would lead them to the center chamber which EDI announced to be bereft of any enemies. At least for now that is, which was good since they estimated the pods like those they saw on Horizon to be there. And hopefully full with their people.

"OK, so what now" Zaeed huffed when they cleared out the immediate area around the door they sought.

"Now we wait" Garrus shrugged.

"We are sitting ducks here" Trev said in worry – so far they have avoided injuries by being constantly on the move, not allowing any Collector to come close enough. It was what they had done in pretty much all the missions so far. This was new and much, much more dangerous than their usual fare.

"Can't help it" Thane said softly.

The Collectors didn't come at them mindlessly. The team had to cover behind the raised ridges, not daring to show their faces for more than a few shots as the Collector's weapons fire was relentless. Their inaction meant the drones came closer.

They could not wait any longer – Mordin and Samara launched their most area encompassing attack. Since both were aimed at slowing the enemy more than pure damage, the rest of the squad leaned out of cover to finish them off as soon as possible.

It did help, but that was one mere wave. The Collectors kept coming, seemingly not caring about having to walk over the dead bodies of their comrades to reach the Normandy ground team.

Fortunately the team had learned from their previous runs against the Collectors and brought enough ammunition. Actually they brought  _everything_. The only thing left on the ship was the proverbial kitchen sink. With one worry less, the team rained fire on the drones in a futile attempt to get them all.

Jacob's omnitool beeped, the sound almost drowned among the gun fire. Thane didn't lift his eye from the scope but asked "What was that?"

"An alarm"

"Missed your bedtime Taylor?" Zaeed chuckled.

"I put it to signalize the estimated time EDI said it would take Tali to reach us" Jacob rolled his eyes, even if his countenance was hopeful.

Nobody said anything to that, even if several people shot a momentary glance to the firmly locked door. Legion had tried to open it when they first arrived but announced it could not be done. At least not in a reasonable amount of time. As they desperately needed his help against the sheer numbers of drones, the door was left to the quarian.

As if summoned by the spark of hope that they could take a break soon, a swarm of seekers burst from the fissure they had circled. Everybody tensed but the tiny creatures simply flied all around them, not doing anything. Mordin's countermeasure was holding. In one aspect they were more than a nuisance as they severely impacted their visibility. Plus the buzzing was maddening.

Mordin dispatched several seekers with his cryo blast "Numbers bearable. If more we are in trouble."

"How so?" Garrus asked.

"Countermeasure won't hold"

With that somber thought they split their attention to encompass the seekers, even if the drones were still a priority. Fortunately still no Scions. Everybody hoped they were simply too slow to respond to the invasion. And that the team would be gone soon.

Suddenly Thane's head shot up from the scope of his sniper rifle. Jacob squinted to see what had captured the drell's attention "What?"

"I hear something" Thane dared to smile, "On the other side of the door."

"Shepard?" Garrus perked up.

"That would be quite welcome" Trev spoke up as she noticed a large group of husks making their way to them from one of the tunnels to their left.

As if they knew they might lose their prey soon, the Collectors came at them with a vengeance. The redoubling of speed was just so sudden that several of the Collectors came close enough to lash at them with their sharp forearms. Grunt took care of them with glee, closely followed by Trev – both more than happy to meet the enemy at close quarters.

Still, the defensive line was broken and that didn't spell anything good. Worse still, they could now hear Tali's distinctive accent through the doors lamenting it was stuck and to let her work while Shepard urged her to hurry.

The distraction squad practically huddled just in front of the large door, hoping to step through at a moment's notice.

"Tali, I don't want to rush you…" Garrus shouted from behind the  _still_  closed door, "But step on it!"

The doors opened almost immediately after, letting the squad in. Or fall in, in some cases. The shooting didn't stop as they had been almost overrun by the collector drones until Tali managed to close the doors once more.

"Lock it tight" Shepard said to the quarian while she wiped her sweaty brow, her helmet in her hands.

"Yeah, sure. Any more wonderful ideas?" Tali muttered angrily, already at work.

"Sorry"

"I mean, I almost got cooked in that ventilation shaft! And had two teams hinging on me! Yelling and ordering doesn't help my mood in the least!"

"Again, I apologize" the commander backed slowly away.

"Shepard!" Miranda shouted to get her attention, "There are pods down here!"

"Our people?" Jacob collected his helmet and rushed towards his colleague.

"I see Kelly!" Trev called from beside one pod and immediately tried to get it open.

"Everybody, get them out!" Shepard began running down the small hill to the row of pods. Most of them were empty which was a bit peculiar, but the Normandy's crew was close by as were a handful of people she could not recognize. Horizon colonist perhaps?

Jack cursed loudly and backed up form one of the pods, falling over a crease "Motherfucker! They're melting!"

"What!"

"Hurry!"

The ground team redoubled their efforts, now seeing more meltdowns – it seemed to be done in order of arrival, or so they guessed, since it was about five of the people from elsewhere.

Finally all that could be saved were out of their constrictive prisons. They got everybody out along with several colonists, losing only Gardener – his heart couldn't handle all the anxiety of being trapped and gave out. Or so Mordin diagnosed.

The rescued were considerably shaken but coherent enough. Shepard didn't even have to ask and Chakwas reported with a trembling voice "They… the rest. They were… processed. Melted into a gray liquid and pumped it through these tubes."

"Do you know why?" the commander asked gently.

Chakwas shook her head "No. We never saw them after they put us here. Thank god you were in time… It.. It.."

"It's going to be ok" Shepard soothed and put a hand on the doctor's shoulder.

"Thank god you came for us"

"Of course. No one left behind, remember?" the red-head winked at Chakwas who gave a small smile in return at the marine credo.

Miranda cleared her throat softly "I don't want to sound insensitive, but we still need to get to central operations. And get the crew back to the ship. The longer we wait, the more opposition we could face."

_"EDI patched us up some_ " Joker came on the radio,  _"We can make a short hop, but the closest landing option is back from your position."_

"We can't afford to double back" Miranda bit her lip.

"We'll send an escort" Shepard decided, "Mordin, Tali – get our people safely to the ship. We should draw away most of their forces so you two should be enough."

"What! What is there is another door" the quarian protested in worry.

"Legion can handle it. Or Kasumi, she unlocks doors for a living. You get started on what repairs EDI can't do by herself. This might've been slated as a suicide mission, but I fully intend to get out of here alive. For that we need our ship operational" Shepard said decisively.

Tali nodded "You're right. Joker, give me the coordinates."

"And myself, commander?" Mordin asked. Shepard made a small gesture to the pale civilians behind Chakwas. They all looked horrible even if more mentally than physically. The salarian nodded "Acknowledged."

"Thank you Shepard" Kelly murmured, along with the rest of the crew as they let themselves be led by Tali, Mordin acting as rear guard.

When the civilian group entered one of the tunnels, Miranda rubbed her brow "Two people down then. This is a blow."

"It was necessary" Shepard countered in a hard voice.

The XO nodded "I agree. Still doesn't change the math."

"So what's next?" Garrus asked.

"Joker? EDI?" Shepard prompted.

_"The tubes doctor Chakwas mentioned all lead into the main control room right above you. The route is blocked by another security door, but there is another chamber that runs parallel to the one you are in_ " the pilot reported.

_"I cannot recommend that_ " EDI interjected, " _Thermal emission suggest that the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once."_

"That almost happened to us" Jacob remarked.

Samara hummed "I have seen those seekers and I might have a solution. A dome of biotic energy could keep them away. But I could protect only a small number of people, not the entire team."

"So same strategy as before" Shepard nodded, "Samara, how many can you protect?"

"Three? And myself, but I won't be of much use fighting-wise" the justicar estimated.

"That's…" Miranda trailed out with a fairly pronounced frown.

"We'll just make a lot of noise" Trev smiled.

Garrus chuckled "We are good at that."

"I am unable to maintain the lock for much longer" Legion interrupted.

Shepard looked at the geth "What? You're connected to the station?"

"Yes"

"Cool, but I think what he's saying is that we should hurry up" Kasumi made a sweeping motion to the back of the room.

Samara nodded "I am ready."

Shepard put her helmet back on, prompting the others to do the same "Miranda, Legion, you're with me and Samara. Legion, you shouldn't be affected by the seekers, right?"

"If enough time passed, I would"

"So same as us?"

"Longer"

"Ok" the commander sighed, sometimes it was hard to talk to the geth, "Samara, if you're in danger of dropping the shield, tell Miranda. You can do it too, right?"

"I can" the brunette nodded.

"Let's go!"

The team split up again, Garrus leading his to the end of the chamber. They walked quickly, hoping to catch the Collectors' attention before the civilian group managed. Once in front another security door they simply looked at each other to check if everyone was ready. They could hear their enemy was waiting for them at the other side of the door.

This wasn't going to be pretty – they were two teammates less than before and last time they got lucky and they knew it.

"Jack, can you do some big boom to get us some room after we enter?" Garrus asked.

"Sure thing, won't know what hit them" the convict smirked.

"Good. So same plan as before – we keep our backs to the wall on our left and we keep moving. Once we reach the doors we barricade ourselves and hope for the best" Garrus nodded.

Kasumi wasn't thrilled "That was your plan? Hope for the best?"

"It worked"

"Yeey" the thief muttered, clearly afraid. That wasn't overly surprising though as her style of fight was highly unsuited to an operation like this.

Trev bumped the smaller woman's shoulder "I'll keep close. I shielded Mordin and I can shield you."

"Thanks" Kasumi smiled with slight embarrassment. As if fearing for your life wasn't perfectly alright.

"We need to go, they breached the door behind us" Thane cautioned.

Garrus nodded "Let's go, we can't get pinned down now. On three. One… Two… Three!"

The ensuing moments were rather chaotic, not at all like their previous calculated movement. Still, it got the job done and the squad found a more defensible spot that covered their backs before they unleashed everything they got to create a smidgen of distance between them and their enemy so that they could regroup. The fact that it had worked at all could be firmly attributed to Jack and Grunt and the sacrifice of several heavy weapon projectiles. But they had gained a foothold, that was important.

Movement towards their destination was much harder that it had been the last time – this time they were facing not only drones but also husks. While husks lacked armor or any other protection, they were relentless. And  _fast_. Not to mention some liked to explode, as they had discovered on the derelict reaper during their quest for the IFF.

Their advance halted before a medium-large bridge that came across another chasm. While no Collectors seemed to be coming from below, the trouble was that there was no cover to speak of nowhere on it. But as Trev put it, at least there  _was_  a bridge.

"So?" Grunt prompted impatiently.

Garrus didn't seem to be overly thrilled to be the leader. He flicked his mandibles rapidly, obviously thinking. Jack rolled her eyes and let out a massive shockwave that swept the husks that were coming at them from said bridge "Tadá."

"That's great, but we still have to cross it" the turian replied dryly.

"Is suggest we just go" Thane piped up.

"Reckless, that's not like you"

"It is when I see a scion that can blow up this entire bridge either before we cross, or with us on it"

"Shit" Zaeed muttered and changed targets.

"Jack, could you do that dome Samara was speaking of earlier too?" Trev asked hopefully, "Just for a little while to ward off weapons fire."

"Sure, but it wouldn't last long" the convict shrugged, "And if that fucker comes near we're toast anyway."

"Fantastic" Kasumi breathed out sarcastically.

Despite all protests the squad moved into position in front of the bridge. Grunt went first, running off with a mighty roar, getting his shotgun instead of his assault rifle. Seeing there was no reason to hesitate, the rest followed with more speed than caution. Jack shielded them with a thin purplish barrier, but it was clear it was not her forte. Still, it did help a little, especially those who hadn't a defense of their own.

The scion didn't disappoint and targeted the bridge with his heavy attack. The distraction squad scrambled out of the way. Jack frowned and with a heavy grunt focused all her energy on the scion's pulse. Her barrier narrowed and strengthened at the point of impact, and after a breathless moment it deflected the attack.

Jack was red in the face from exertion and staggered slightly. Since haste was paramount, Thane wrapped one of his arms onto the biotic's waist and tugged her towards the end of the bridge. Jack didn't even protest.

Despite Jack being too tired to contribute at the moment, and Jacob getting hit by a stray shot causing him to limp, Garrus' team made it to the doors that had been their destination. They were closed, but that had been expected. They took a long time arriving, but that was nothing compared to trudging along dodging seekers as Shepard's team.

Silently they spread out in front of the doors, hiding behind the raised ridges that mercifully provided cover. Fortunately for them, the position they were in meant the Collectors could only come at them from the front and from the left – Kasumi having destroyed the bridge they came on in with a rocket launcher that almost launched  _her_  in the air with its recoil.

They waited but weren't bored in the least. The Collectors diligently wore them down with incessant fire and hordes of husks. Two more scions made their way to them, but this time they whipped out their heavy weapons without regret.

Keeping alert all the time was tiresome, the squad feeling much fatigue. But they were professionals and knew how to pace themselves. Still, it was taking a toll. The biotics had the added issue of hunger – not that the others would say no to a nice meal.

"Got any more alarms?" Kasumi asked Jacob.

"No" the operative reloaded, "I didn't know how fast they could go under Samara's dome."

"Bummer" Zaeed shrugged.

Garrus tapped one talon to his ear "How about it Shepard?" He got only buzzing in reply. "There is some interference, I can't get them on the comm."

"Well, they are busy. I doubt they would welcome the 'are we there yet' tripe anyway" Trev sighed.

"You got those too back home?" Kasumi perked up.

"Oh, yes. Especially when escorting reverend mothers from Orlais" the templar pursed her lips in mild disgust, "They complained about  _everything_." Then she put on an Orlais accent that made the humans chuckle while the others didn't get it through their translators "Why izz zere so much mud? And those uncouth bandits. Que scandale! And iz zat assassin wearing last season's colorrs?"

While Trev's acting did lighten up the atmosphere, it almost caused to get her head blown off in her inattention if not for Grunt that shoved her away. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Scion!" Jacob alerted them tiredly, this  _was_  getting old.

"They always butt in" Kasumi sighed theatrically.

Their reserve of missiles was dwindling as was the normal heat sinks that served in place of ammunition, despite the fact they made merchants on Omega quite rich with their purchase. They still had enough, but it was starting to be a worry. A serious worry – they didn't know just how further they needed to go and what would wait for them there. Much of their hope was pinned on the fact that the Normandy was at least mobile, and now with Tali on the job, it should be in good enough shape to pick them up.

"You have to be kidding me" Garrus lifted up his head from the scope, "A praetorian."

"Count again" Grunt huffed.

"Two pretorians" the turian amended with a weak voice.

"His beam will tear though our cover in no time" Kasumi bit her lip.

"Please" Jack said with false bravado, "We do it like usual. Princess stabbity-stabbity will suck up his barrier and we finish the job."

Trev sighed at yet another nickname "The one on the left fist?"

"Ladies' choice" Thane smirked minutely.

The Cleanse came with much more difficulty than ever before. Trev frowned, she knew her powers were weakening, but this was a really bad time. Still, the flying scarab's barrier was gone.

"One down" Zaeed said in satisfaction as he exchanged the grenade launcher for his trusty assault rifle which he had to put to use immediately as the drones and several husks took advantage of the squad's single focus to come close.

Nobody spoke about it, but there was another thing was becoming short in supply – medigel. So far it was just stray bullets, a scrape here and there, but their harsuits kept pumping the substance helping to keep all those injuries closed and the pain down. Soon, it would run out and every injury would be felt.

The beam of the second praetorian caught Trev's omnishield and made her stagger backwards. Still she held, knowing what would happen if it impacted fully. Again she thrust her hand forward and willed the barrier away. To make it so that it could not be summoned or sustained.

Drones and husks didn't care that both of the praetorians were incinerated, they used the distraction that they had provided to launch themselves past the defense line and onto the Normandy's crew.

Kasumi got thrown hard into the doors behind her as Trev's shield was out to let her arm rest form the blow it got from the beam. Thane rushed to her and got the husk with the butt of his sniper rifle he had used as a bat for the occasion. Trev didn't even have the time to apologize as more and more husks made it to them. Jack almost got buried from the onslaught and only got up when Jacob biotically threw them off her with a yell of exertion.

They were running out of time. Grimly they persevered, waiting, hoping.

The door finally opened to reveal Shepard and her squad, all ready to lay down suppressing fire. It was direly needed. Everybody's relief was palpable.

Garrus' squad managed to hobble into the empty chamber while getting enough space between them and the drones for Legion to close the door, giving them a much needed respite.

"Shit" Shepard muttered when she realized this time the diversion team fared much worse than before. Her inquiry about the injuries was delayed by Joker finally getting the commander on radio. "Report."

_"Chakwas and the rest showed up. Everybody's ok"_

"Good" the red-head exhaled in relief, "Start on the repairs immediately. It even might help the crewmembers not to fall apart. We need to be flight-capable soon, we're almost at Operations. Speaking of, EDI? Plan?"

_"This room holds several platforms that can be directed towards the main console_ " the AI reported.

Joker interrupted " _There is a landing zone nearby if we're creative enough. Might not be wherever those flying platforms go."_

"So you say to hold this position and come back?" Shepard frowned.

_"I'm just a pilot"_

_"A rearguard would prevent the Collectors from following form this direction. Also, my projections say that the Normandy will be able for a pick up soon"_

"Not much space on the platform either" Trev commented.

"We could take multiple" Jacob proposed.

Garrus shook his head "It would be better if EDI concentrated on repairs than taxiing us around."

"We can take 'em" Grunt shrugged.

"We need to decide soon" Miranda looked at Shepard, "Your orders?"

Shepard made a frustrated gesture but calmed down swiftly "We defend this position. Garrus, your team keeps the Collectors off our backs. When you are starting to get overwhelmed, retreat to Joker's coordinates. If my team takes too long, we radio the ship directly. Hopefully it can fly as fast. But one way or the other, this base goes down."

"We'll hold the line" Garrus winked.

The red-head inappropriately erupted into laughter "I'm afraid my speech will be far worse than Major's Kirrhe."

"Oh, so we finally get that speech?" Kasumi smirked tiredly.

Shepard nodded solemnly and took a deep breath. Then she announced "Don't die."

"That's it?" Jack chuckled.

"Simple, I like it" Zaeed smiled, his scar making him look rather horrifying.

"Yeah" Grunt seemed satisfied with his battlemaster.

The Spectre smiled as well "Glad you like it. If there is interest I will make a speech after this is done. I expect  _everybody_  to be in attendance. Capiche?"

"Aye, aye" her team chorused, rather amused.

"Good" Shepard nodded, "Miranda, Legion, Kasumi - you're with me."

Garrus flicked his mandibles "You hear that people, the rest of us are on barricade duty."

The tone had been light, banter as always, but they all knew the situation was more than serious. Shepard knew as well, it was clear for the worried and resigned look she gave over her shoulder as the platform took off. Nobody said anything.

Samara was the first to move. Well, collapse if Trev wasn't there to catch her. The adrenalin from her previous run, and success despite the odds, draining from her system. There would be no more biotics from her in quite a while.

Garrus jerked his head to the side and the templar nodded, already leading Samara to the back of the chamber towards the exit they hoped to take. She motioned Jack to come as well but the convict sneered and took out her shotgun, pumping it aggressively.

Grunt, Jacob and Zaeed took cover neared to the doors, Thane and Garrus covering them with their sniper rifles. Trev joined Jack in the middle of the formation.

They all could hear the snarls and thumping behind the door that they came from so they merely waited for the Collectors to breach through.

The silent wait was becoming unbearable so Jack asked loudly "So these Orlesians, how come they have a French accent?"

"French accent?" Trev frowned in confusion.

"Yeah. Since you're from another dimension or whatever, how come you have the same languages as us."

"I.." the templar hesitated, "I have no idea."

"That Antivan did sound a bit like Italian or Spanish" Jacob nodded.

Garrus hummed "I always found interesting that humans still use so many languages. Turians only have different accents now, even dialects are long forgotten."

A loud thump on the door made them pause. But since nothing came though, they just shrugged and resumed their semi-forced conversation.

"How about the asari, Samara?" Jacob asked.

They all looked back at the justicar who was in the middle of stuffing an energy bar into her mouth in an uncharacteristically ungraceful manner. She blushed under the amused stares.

"How about it Grunt?" Garrus asked the krogan instead.

"No"

"No what?"

"One language. Not that anyone knows what came before the bombings" Grunt said with disinterest.

Another thump resonated though the chamber and a glowing glyph appeared on the doors, resembling the ones that opened the doors on the Normandy.

"Not that I am complaining" Trev coked her head to the side, "But they are taking really long with this one door."

"Legion probably scrambled it a bit" Garrus mused.

"Flashlight head has been useful" Zaeed agreed.

The doors opened unceremoniously, silently – if the team wasn't on high alert they might've even missed it.

Fighting began anew.

The short break did them wonders, as did the knowledge that it would be over soon. They would need to hold just one more time. Just once more. Collectors came in droves, striving to deny them the chance.

This time it was more husks than drones, coming at them relentlessly. One bullet was never enough with them, they needed to be thoroughly destroyed otherwise there was no stopping them – that was what made them so dangerous. And why when there was enough of them, they managed to get close.

The Normandy team managed to keep them at bay with grenades, but those were soon few and then none. It was the same story as before, only now the Collectors have learned that this was the best strategy and sent them first and in vast numbers.

Showing they have truly learned, once the defenders eliminated a good chunk of husks and got tired once more, they sent the kamikaze ones. The 'abominations' as TIM had dubbed them in their codex to everybody's displeasure.

"Grunt, you alright!" Trev exclaimed when the krogan got mobbed by the abominations that promptly exploded.

"I'm alright" Grunt was quick to reassure, even if the impact of the explosion threw him to the ground. His barrier was gone, his visor was gone and he was breathing heavily – to be able to do that to a krogan as skilled as Grunt was a disheartening prospect.

Zaeed who was close to explosion fell also, now clutching his leg. Jack had to use her biotics to pull him to herself, lest the Collectors would use his lack of attention and shield.

The team's attention was firmly on their enemy, but everybody spared at least a glance at Grunt and Zaeed. Everybody noticed that the mercenary's leg was now bleeding freely with a good chunk of his armor missing and no more medigel to seal the wound. Zaeed let out a long string of curses and resumed his shooting.

Not that the rest was unharmed – with the incessant barrage they were under, their shields and barriers were failing much quicker and often quite unpredictably, leaving them open for any good shot. Their armor caught most of the damage, but it was never meant to be impenetrable.

Another well-timed assault from the kamikaze husks was aimed at Trev, but this time Thane intervened with an excellent biotic throw that launched them back into the horde, taking a good number of their fellows down with them in the resulting explosion.

Finally their radios came to life, like a prayer answered.

_"Commander Shepard has succeeded in sabotaging the base._

"Good, because we can't hold out for much longer" Garrus said grimly.

" _You are to retreat to the coordinates, we will pick you up_ "

"What about Miranda, Shepard and the rest?" Trev asked.

" _They will board from a different location"_

Taking it as confirmation Shepard's team was **still alive and kicking, Garrus ordered excitedly "You heard that people, time to retreat to our extraction coordinates. In a slow and orderly manner."**

Slow was the keyword here – Zaeed was hobbling along the others, but even them had to be careful as the Collectors never did seem to run out of ammunition.

Then unexpectedly, without even a shot in his direction, Jacob collapsed.

Garrus didn't need to order and Samara rushed to him to see what was wrong as the rest of the squad camped behind nearest cover, entrenching themselves again.

"So?" Jack prompted impatiently, not bothering to look at the motionless operative.

Samara's omnitool flicked off "He's dead. He bled out."

"What!" Trev frowned, "I didn't see him get injured."

The justicar palmed her pistol once more "Possibly internal, possibly external and he didn't say anything."

Jack rolled her eyes but her voice wasn't as hard as usual "Machismo at its finest."

"Let's go" Garrus said softly.

They all were a bit reluctant to leave the man behind, but there was nothing to be done for him. Still, it was just so sudden and without ceremony.

Continuing hopping from cover to cover, they slowly neared the spot where the Normandy was promised to wait. As if sensing they were about to lose them, the Collectors redoubled their efforts.

And then the seekers came. Whatever tunnel they took form their own chamber it led them here. And all of them came to the party.

The squad looked up at the rapidly blackening ceiling and then to Samara. They were close to the ship, only a short run, the next chamber was really close.

"We'll have to run" the justicar said with a deep breath, "I will not be able to hold the dome for long. We might not even get there."

"How about you Jack? Thane?" Garrus asked.

"I don't have enough power" the drell shook his head sadly.

Jack huffed "I don't really have the control."

Samara wordlessly surrounded them with her biotics, being their only hope now. Without further prompting they leapt from their covers and began running for their life.

Not only the seekers, but also weapon's fire impacted the thin barrier, not one getting through. Still, each shot was like a physical blow to the millennial asari. They needed out. And fast.

Zaeed's bad leg gave out. The mercenary tucked himself into a roll to come to stand again without losing momentum, but the injured leg betrayed him once more. His fall brought him out of the biotic dome. The seekers swarmed him immediately.

Samara's eyes were squinted in concentration and she didn't even notice Zaeed falling behind, only felt a slight disturbance in her shield which she promptly reinforced. They were already three strides away from the mercenary before they could even react.

Not that it would help – if Zaeed's armor wasn't so very yellow he wouldn't even be seen under the sudden onslaught of black of the seekers. The man growled and thrashed but in a blink he was gone, carried away or similarly sucked into the blackness. It was same as with Jacob – he was there one moment and the next he just wasn't. But this time, there wasn't even time to pause and acknowledge what has happened.

Without a comment the squad continued running, even if the loss was hanging over them. Maybe with the exception of Samara who seemed to have fallen into a trance where only one thing mattered – keeping her barrier up while pelted with Collector's fire.

" _Where are you, we are waiting_ " Joker's voice startled them on the radio.

"Nearly there" Garrus reported stiffly.

The squad veered left and into a tunnel that would lead them to the ship, provided there were no surprises on their way. The tunnel zigzagged but was blissfully empty. Still, they ran under the biotic dome out of sheer momentum.

Finally they burst out of the tunnel to find themselves on the top of a cliff, their banged up home hovering right before them. The airlock doors near the pilot cabin opened invitingly.

Samara didn't hesitate even for a moment, just finally dropped the dome and lunched herself into the air, landing gracefully into the empty space. The rest of the distraction team followed one by one, Grunt going last, his massive frame serving as a shield for any enemy that might've followed them.

"Anyone else coming?" Joker asked from the cockpit in a hard voice, obviously having listened on the comms."

"No" Trev shook her head.

"Alright" the pilot said with forced neutrality, "Shepard's run into some trouble further along. We'll be picking them up now."

Jack picked up her discarded shotgun up again with a loud exhale. The rest did the same but not moved from the places they collapsed on, just waiting if they would be needed. Samara took it one step further by kneeling by the wall, resting her forehead on the smooth surface, quite obviously trying not to throw up.

The squad listened silently to Joker and EDI coordinating with Shepard. They actually never realized that the pilot was listening in on them all the time on mission. Or well, if he chose to.

"Human reaper?" Trev mouthed. Jack shrugged.

Despite the obscenities they heard muttered over the comm, Shepard seemed to have things more or less well in hand. Still, the squad was ready to assist if there was need when Joker brought them close enough.

EDI and Joker had trouble navigating the giant base, trying to find a way to the second squad. They were still far when after a yell of jubilation that was indubitably Shepard's, loud explosions and shouting followed. Everybody tensed.

They tensed even more at the following silence. The EDI announced " _Found them. They are three levels below."_

Three levels on a Collector structure could be pretty much anything, but it still implied a great deal of height, thus a long fall. Their armor was good, but this could kill them same as any Collector. With a bigger chance even.

When more silence followed Joker yelled into the comm in panic "Do you copy? Commander? Come on, Shepard, don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?"

…

" _I'm here Joker_ " Shepard finally answered.

Relief washed over them. Joker nodded happily "Good, all the survivors are on board."

" _Shepard, I have several Collectors closing in on your position. Prepare for extraction_ " EDI warned.

"Yeah, we're close. The fall actually helped us with locating you" Joker chimed in.

" _Ok_ " was the short reply and hard reply.

The distraction team, which had been also joined by Tali and Mordin, put down their weapons again. Then slowly vacated the airlock and the space behind the pilot's cabin in case Shepard and her squad had to take a running leap same as they had before.

"Got them" Joker murmured to himself and pushed the button that would open the airlock door.

Sounds of gunfire replaced the silence from before. Then Miranda leapt inside, stumbling at the landing. Thane who had been closest grabbed her arm just in case and pulled her further inside. Legion followed with little trouble.

More gunfire and Shepard took a running jump. Either she had been more tired or miscalculated the distance because she almost didn't make it. She caught the ledge and had to be pulled inside by both Thane and Miranda.

"Kasumi?" Trev asked.

Both Miranda and Shepard shook their heads. The commander thumped her fist angrily on the wall "She fell off the platform before us."

And just like that their death toll climbed up to three.

"Let's get us out of here" Shepard ordered.

"Aye, aye" Joker replied without his usual flare.

Miranda and Shepard collapsed right next to the rest of the ground team, all of them too tired to move to their quarters. Also there was the matter of the big finale.

It didn't seem long after that EDI announced " _Detonation in ten, nine, eight…"_

Shepard smiled grimly and ordered "Punch it." The Normandy sped up.

Hearing it was finally happening, the rest of the ground team looked into the cockpit and out of the window."

"… _three, two, one_."

The Normandy only rocked gently due to the shockwave from the explosion leagues away. The Collector base went up in flame and the mission was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Longest chapter and by far the hardest to write. I mean it, I rewrote it at least three times. I am… more or less satisfied with the result. It was a bit rushed in some places, but the mission was on timer so I hope to be forgiven.
> 
> Next up Stage Five: Acceptance and the end of the ME2.


	25. Stage Five - Acceptance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I did all the loyalty missions so the entire squad should've lived but that is game logic - there is just no way that could've happened. SO I killed off Jacob (not a fan), Zaeed (meh) and Kasumi (I almost cried when I did it). Sorry.

Shepard walked out of the QEC room with a big smile on her face – flipping TIM the bird was _so_  satisfying. Then her smile turned to a frown at the memory of the three symbolic coffins in the mangled cargo bay. Then it came back, even if more subdued – Zaeed, Jacob and especially Kasumi would've delighted in her telling the boss of Cerberus to fuck off. And thanks for the ship. Ta!

He was fuming. And then she hanged up on him. Delicious.

"EDI how are we with the repairs?" Shepard asked.

" _About 45% complete_ " the AI replied swiftly, " _But dry-dock will be necessary for complete repair."_

"I know. We will do what we can, take a small vacation and then we can dry-dock when I turn myself in to the Alliance" Shepard nearly whispered the last part, obviously dreading it.

" _Several members of the ground team have already confirmed that Omega will suffice for all of them. They will take separate transports from there_ "

"Already?" the re-head exclaimed.

" _No one seemed in any particular rush to leave. Quite the opposite_ "

"Good, good"

" _Indeed_ "

"I will miss you too" Shepard said warmly and stopped walking, "You have been a true friend. Will, will  _you_  be alright? The Normandy will be impounded for a while."

" _Jeff said he had a plan_ "

"Oh boy"

" _He seems confident_ "

"Sorry, I was just being a wise-ass, you know me" the vanguard smirked apologetically.

" _I know. Trev once called it charming_ "

"She did, did she?" Shepard grinned widely, "Might be why she loosened up a little. I truly am a wonderful commander."

" _As you say_ "

"I don't like wise-assery on other people"

" _Doubtful, judging by the ground team roster"_

"You learn too fast" the woman said with faux-grumpiness and a wink.

" _Thank you_ "

Shepard sighed "Ahh, I am really going to miss you. Miss this. And while we are on the subject, did you download the JAG files?"

" _All the information is on your terminal. I had taken the liberty to highlight passages that might be pertinent in your case_ "

"Books on martial law have provisions for rising from the dead?"

" _Should I download the Bible as well?"_

"Funny"

" _I have also compiled a list of current JAG personnel along with their win-loss ratio_ "

"Usually you don't choose which JAG will be representing you" Shepard pointed out.

" _Some of them might find to have problems with their license or behavior, such as possible errors in their tax returns_ "

"Those are filed for us, but thank you for the sentiment. Please don't hack the Alliance"

" _Very well. The offer stands_ "

"You're sweet" Shepard smiled.

" _Thank you_ "

The red-head entered the mess hall which was surprisingly deserted – most people were busy with the repairs plus nobody wanted to linger in the kitchen lest be asked to actually cook something. The day before they made do with energy bars and packaged meals. Shepard sighed – with both Gardener and Zaeed gone, nobody was clamoring to fill their spot and she was  _hungry_. And not for those cardboard-tasting emergency rations.

With another sigh the vanguard opened one of the cupboards to take a look around. Her scavenger hunt had meager results as Shepard was no cook, but breakfast food, she could do that. Powered eggs, powdered milk, some dried vegetable, and her prize - a block of hard cheese. Omelet it was.

Because of the unfamiliarity with the powdered forms Shepard donned the same apron Zaeed had. She felt foolish but it did help a lot.

It didn't take all that long. The commander slid the ready omelet onto a plate and turned around to bring it to a table. Then she gaped. Somehow the whole damn crew managed to sneak in while she was distracted with the unfamiliar task of cooking and sit behind the tables. They all watched her like a pack of hungry, and  **very**  hopeful, wolves.

"No" Shepard narrowed her eyes.

The crewmembers directed at her such looks of desperate pleading it was heart-wrenching.

"No," she reiterated firmly, unmoved, "EDI, how did they know to come here?"

" _I called them_ "

"I take it back, you're not sweet at all"

" _No backsies_ "

* * *

_"Trev?"_

"Yes, EDI?"

_"You once asked me about the correspondence between operative Lawson and the Illusive Man about you. I no longer have a block preventing me from answering"_

Trev frowned anxiously "And?"

_"I cannot adequately evaluate them, so I sent the relevant transcripts to your omnitool"_

"Thank you"

_"Although it is of note that text cannot appropriately convey the entirety of the message"_

"I'll keep it mind. Thank you EDI"

_"You're welcome"_

As the AI fell silent, Trev delved into the surprisingly few messages. She had expected worse. She quickly skimmed them, then bit down a growl as she read them properly the second time.

Once done, she stood up abruptly and strode towards the XO's cabin. She passed Samara on her way but the justicar seemed content to let her go on uninterrupted, obviously noticing the angry look on Trevelyan's face.

She struck the green glowy symbol and entered the office without knocking. She had the bare bones of her angry tirade prepared, improvisation was always better when yelling, but all that vanished when she didn't see Miranda behind her table as always. Instead she noticed a big lump under the covers of the bed.

The lump moved and revealed enough of the brunette's face to see a glower "What?"

Trev was torn between yelling in anger as she wanted at first, ask what was wrong - because obviously something was, or laughing at how adorable the view was. She settled onto the second option "Are you alright?"

Miranda snorted and burrowed back under the blanket.

The templar arched her eyebrows in utter disbelief. Then she approached the bed at the back of the cabin. She eyed the lump again and finally sat on the edge of the bed "What is it?"

It took a moment but Miranda resurfaced. She squinted at Trev, exhaled loudly and turned onto her back. She threw her arm over her eyes " _Consider this my resignation_. What was I thinking!"

Trevelyan stayed silent, trying not to look too happy about that.

"I don't know what came over me. I  _always_  plan! Think things through"

"Do you regret saying it?" the templar cocked her head to the side.

Miranda shook her head slowly, her arm never leaving her eyes.

Knowing fully this wasn't really the time for it, Trev cleared her throat "Does that mean you won't ship me to Cerberus research?"

"What?" the brunette finally took off the arm from her eyes and frowned.

"EDI is just looking out for me"

"How... oh. The messages"

"Yes"

"I wouldn't have shipped you even before" Miranda met the templar's eyes, "The samples Chakwas got would be enough. And besides, he wanted your willing cooperation."

"Not going to happen"

"Of course not, you're a ridiculously decent human being" a corner of the brunette's mouth quirked upwards.

Trev smirked "You say it like it's a bad thing."

"Just those people tend to get screwed over badly" Miranda sighed.

"Shepard manages"

"She's on her second life already"

"Good point" Trev hummed, "What about you? Are you a decent person? You did tell TIM to fuck off."

"Only when it got too much even for  _my_  conscience"

"Sooo, not a decent person?"

"I don't know, was Leliana a decent person, spymaster and all? And Shepard is a bad influence on you, you weren't this insolent in the beginning" Miranda chuckled.

Trev shrugged with a smile "Maybe I just realized there was no decorum to maintain and no code of conduct on this ship."

"Shepard's fault" Miranda reiterated with a sage nod.

"So, what are you planning to do now?" the templar looked out of the cabin's window.

"I don't know. Honestly it is a little scary" the brunette bit her lip, "I guess I will have to fall off-grid for a while, I know quite a bit about Cerberus. Things the Illusive Man would prefer I would never have the opportunity to reveal." After a beat of silence she turned her gaze to Trevelyan "But I imagine your situation is even scarier."

"It is... uncertain"

Miranda nodded "Well, I would advise against going to the Alliance – it is quite probable you'd end up in their research, if not ours." Then she halted and frowned "Cerberus' research. God, this will take some getting used to."

"Would it make me a bad friend if I told you I'm glad for it?"

The former operative chuckled "No, you've made your opinion about Cerberus clear from the beginning. And it is better than 'I told you so'. Surprisingly nobody said that to me. Not even Jack. Though she is smirking at me smugly, so maybe I spoke too soon."

Trev hummed and after a moment of hesitation she spoke "I always wanted to ask, are you two flirting? Because what you do could be sometimes be categorized as aggressive foreplay."

"What!" Miranda's eyes bulged and she sat up on her bed, "Over my dead body!"

"That was illegal in Thedas" the templar smirked and got hit in the leg for it.

"You're such an ass sometimes"

"I blame Shepard" Trev's smirk widened.

Miranda smiled "Of course. But no, I am most definitely not into bald violent psychopaths, reason for it or no. And I'm not a fan of tattoos. And prefer people who don't use a swear word for every three normal ones."

Trev smiled and nodded.

They sat in silence for a while and then the brunette hummed absently "You know, Garrus once told me that when he doubted everything, Shepard was the only one to make sense. I find myself in a similar situation. Or well, instead of Shepard it is the fight against the Reapers. But I simply do not know what to do now."

"You have Oriana" Trev reminded.

Miranda shook her head "I can't go there, I would only put her in danger. Not even the Illusive Man knows where I hid her right now and joining her would be just tempting fate. But I will keep an eye out for her and her family."

"How about going after your father?" the templar proposed.

"No" was the swift reply.

"Ok" Trev said equally swiftly.

Miranda chuckled at the backpedaling but instead of explaining her position she changed the subject "What about you?"

The noble stiffened. She looked at the floor and tapped her knee in thought. Then she spoke hesitantly "I had a thought. Before. Now I am unsure. It is… a leap."

"Leap?" Miranda frowned in confusion.

"A leap of faith"

The brunette considered making a quip but decided not to, sensing this was serious "What do you mean?"

Trev sighed and rubbed her brow – she was good at action, talking came a little harder. She definitely was no Sister Nightingale. The blonde let her hand drop and her eyes met the blue of her companion's "I thought I might perhaps go with you. You intend to lay low, yet to fight against the Reapers. If you'd be amenable, that is."

"Oh" Miranda said with a humorless smile, "A leaf of faith indeed. You are not sure if my resignation form Cerberus was genuine or just a ploy to drag you along. Just as my friendship overtures were encouraged by the Illusive Man as punctuated by those messages you've seen."

"Yes" the templar shrugged without remorse.

"That's very wise of you, although it makes me sad a little. Not that you don't have recourse, more like that it has occurred to you in the first place" Miranda sighed.

"I did have an Orlesian bard for a lover"

The brunette nodded "I can't really give much assurance, only tell you I am done with the Illusive Man. And if you wish, I'd gladly have you along."

"I'd like that" Trev bowed minutely, as was customary in her homeland.

Miranda gave her a small smile "Escaping form Cerberus looks less daunting now, with a friend. And I'd like to point out, that while TIM encouraged our friendship, he didn't dictate it. I find you troublesome all on my own."

"I am troublesome now?" the templar chuckled, quite relieved – she did believe Miranda. She did take that leap. Now it was just waiting to be proven either right or wrong.

"From the very beginning" Miranda smirked, "I mean, Kelly had to teach you how to use our toilets and to turn on the lights."

"I'm still asking EDI to that for me. Unnecessarily difficult" Trev gave a grave nod.

"A herculean task" the brunette chuckled.

"Oh! I do like your mythology"

"And I do yours. And your land's tales and stories" Miranda smiled – they all took turns telling tales or funny stories during dinner. It was a ritual that brought the ground team closer together. And you are never too old for a good bed-time story. Grunt had enjoyed this immensely, not having much to tell, he compensated by listening with such child-like enthusiasm everybody was reminded that he was practically just a teenager, no matter his size or battle prowess. It was rather cute, not that anybody voiced that feeling, not wanting their heads bashed into the table for the affront.

"Really, I was under the impression you didn't like the tale of Ser Aveline" the noble hummed.

"Didn't like the ending," the brunette shrugged, "Men resenting a woman because she was better than them, not really a surprise twist."

"Ah, but the Emperor praised her even though he himself got beaten and allowed women to enter knighthood as well. Aveline died but it wasn't meaningless"

"Yeey" Miranda said dryly.

"I shall endeavor to find a tale more to your liking" Trev rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Well, it seems you'll have the time" the XO looped to their previous topic.

"Yes. Also I imagine we will have plenty to tell in the future – tales of daring escapes from Cerberus snatchers"

"Not if we do it right" Miranda arched an eyebrow.

"I am a warrior not a rogue, I shall follow your lead in this" Trev smiled.

"Well, we can start by getting rid of that templar skirt of yours"

"WHAT!"

* * *

It was fitting the last destination of the Normandy with all its crew would be Omega station. On Earth Omega always symbolized an end. Also it where the mission against the Collectors truly began so it was poetic it would end there as well.

Poetry aside, Shepard was sad and rather anxious – she would be returning to the Alliance soon and she didn't have a good feeling about it. She knew her claims would be ridiculed but if one, just one other person believed her and started preparing, it would be worth it.

The sad part was obvious as she stood before the assembled ground team and the vast majority of the crew.

"So, speech?" Jack smirked, reusing the old joke.

Shepard chuckled "Still nothing I'm afraid. But I do have something to say."

"How is that not a speech?" Thane arched his eyebrows.

"Shush" the commander winked. Then she took a deep breath.

"See, deep breath – in books you always do that before a big speech" Trev pointed out.

"I did like the one she gave on the Collector base – 'don't die'. Nice, easy and to the point" Grunt remarked.

"When was that?" Tali asked.

Garrus turned to the quarian "The final push. You were repairing the Normandy by then."

Shepard cleared her throat loudly and wave her hands "Helllooo? Your captain speaking?"

"Should we fasten our seatbelts?" Miranda arched an eyebrow.

"Oooh, cheerleader humor, what a treat" Jack inevitably commented.

"Shepard is turning an interesting shade of blue, perhaps we should listen?" Samara interrupted, sounding amused.

Trev squinted at the commander "Are you holding your breath?"

"Children do that. How fitting" Chakwas smirked.

Thene smiled "I think we should give her mercy."

"Nah, this is fun" Jack shrugged.

"Average human can hold breath approximately two minutes. Cerberus upgrades will make result interesting" Mordin hummed.

Shepard let out her breath loudly and began coughing. Then she glared "You're all mean." The entire ground team, plus those that knew Shepard well, collectively shrugged.

The red-head took a deep breath again, this time glaring at everybody, daring them to interrupt again. They didn't, only grinned at her. "So," Shepard began, "We did damn well against the Collectors, we can be proud about that. But the fact is that the Reapers are still coming. We have slowed them, killed their lackeys and mucked up their plans, but they  _are_  coming. Be it a month or years, it is inevitable. Pretty much nobody believes it but the fact remains. So here is me asking that you prepare – there is no need for public preaching and the like, but if you tell your friends, your family, those you know, perhaps they will believe you and might spread the word as well. It doesn't matter if whom you tell is in power or not, this coming war will affect everybody. All the races, all people. Be prepared and be vigilant, that is all we can do now. But rest assured – believed or not, we will kick Reaper arse!"

"See, now  _that_  is a speech" Garrus grinned.

"Still liked the first one better" Grunt countered but smiled widely at Shepard, giving her an approving nod.

Getting smiles and nods from everybody assembled, Shepard smirked, blew on her nails and polished them on her shirt "I try."

Goodbyes were always awkward – most of the Cerberus crew left after the speech, only giving another smile and a nod to their commander. Some lingered, still talking, and some decided to stay and let the Alliance deal with them – that was the case of the two engineers for example. Chakwas was staying too but she never actually left the Alliance, merely taken a sabbatical of sorts. Maybe vacation – Shepard wasn't sure.

The commander let her eyes rove over the remaining people – Jack had made a flippant comment, one to her and one to Miranda, and left without much ceremony. Thane gave a small bow and words of parting and did the same, as did Samara. Mordin inhaled strongly from his nose, as if to take the smell of the ship with him and with only 'Need to check on assistant" he left as well.

Miranda lingered because of Trev since they agreed to go together and the templar wasn't done with her goodbyes. Shepard sighed – she would miss them all but the templar definitely joined the select group with Garrus and Tali. She hoped Trev wouldn't get burned with Miranda – now as they stood together it was quite obvious the blonde fancied the other woman, even if she never admitted to it out loud. Miranda was harder to read - while Shepard believed her she did quit Cerberus, it was no guarantee of anything else.

Finally Shepard got a fierce hug and Trev left with the former operative in tow. Only Garrus and Tali were left, but those too had their own plans and had to go.

Soon she was alone on the deck with only Joker once more in his leather seat. And EDI, of course. Shepard sighed once more and went to her spot over the galaxy map from where she usually input coordinates. Either Arcturus or Vancouver. She was still waiting on the message from Anderson giving her the go-ahead. She needed an ally and the human councilor was one of her closest friends. Well, before her death anyway.

" _You have received priority mail from admiral Hackett. Marked urgent and classified_ "

"Huh?" Shepard wondered to herself and went to her terminal. The mission brief, and the sheer fact she had received a mission, made her arch her eyebrows in surprise. "EDI?"

" _Yes commander_ "

"Did you verify this?"

" _I am positive this is indeed from admiral Steven Hackett_ "

"Huh" Shepard said again and bit her lip. Then she sighed "Well, I guess we're off to batarian territory."

" _Acknowledged. Shall I inform Jeff?"_

"Sure" the woman shrugged. Returning above the galaxy map she braced her forearms on the small railing. Looking down at the holographic representation of the galaxy she sighed and murmured to herself "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand done! (DLC Arrival is implied only)
> 
> There is a sequel, obviously. I was torn between making a few short chapters about the six months 'in between' or jumping right to Mass Effect 3, using narrative and flashbacks to fill in the blanks.
> 
> Ultimately decided on option one but the six months are more filler-like. You can skip right to ME3 and not miss that much.
> 
> PS: The sequel is higher rated and there will be romance – both for Trev (no points for guessing who that will be) and Shepard (points available).
> 
> See you soon.


End file.
